100 signatures reached
To: Brian Manley, Chief of the Austin Police Department
Chief Manley, stop doing ICE's dirty work
Last summer, we watched in horror as Jeff Sessions used his “Zero Tolerance” policy at the border to prosecute thousands of immigrants and take their children from them. Now, our local Assistant US Attorney Grant Sparks is using these same laws against our community, and the Austin Police Department is helping him do it.
Luis is facing up to 20 years in prison because the government is accusing him of returning home to his family in Austin after being deported. Sign to demand that Assistant US Attorney Grant Sparks drop the charges against Luis and call Austin Police Chief Brian Manley to tell him to stop doing ICE’s dirty work.
Luis is facing up to 20 years in prison because the government is accusing him of returning home to his family in Austin after being deported. Sign to demand that Assistant US Attorney Grant Sparks drop the charges against Luis and call Austin Police Chief Brian Manley to tell him to stop doing ICE’s dirty work.
Why is this important?
Luis has lived in East Austin since he was a baby; English is his first language. After Luis’s abusive father left the family, Luis’s mother raised him and his siblings as a single-mother. Luis struggled as a teenager, but after meeting his wife Ana Marie, he fell in love and became a father to her two little girls. They built a stable and loving home, and in 2017, Luis was overjoyed to learn that his wife was pregnant and their family would grow.
Last year ICE began monitoring Luis on social media and asked the Austin Police Department for help surveilling him without a warrant. Instead of following their own protocols as a Freedom City, the Austin Police Department decided to proactively collaborate with ICE and used a mental health call at a wrong address in the neighborhood to get information on Luis and his family. APD’s unethical behavior helped ICE arrest Luis and he now faces prosecution for “illegal reentry.” If found guilty, Luis could face up to 20 years in prison.
Luis is part of a growing trend. Currently, more than 63% of all federal prosecutions are for immigration related charges. Many immigrants facing prosecution feel like they have no support or options, so they plead guilty. But Luis has said “I was unjustly arrested in front of my 8-month pregnant wife. She had a seizure as I was being taken, and I haven’t met my son. I want people to know what APD is doing and how they are helping ICE separate families. I am fighting because I want nothing more than to go to my home in East Austin and hold my wife and son.” Please stand with him so that he knows he is not alone.
Luis is a part of our community; he should be allowed to stay in the United States to meet his son and help raise him. Sign here to demand Assistant US Attorney Grant Sparks drop all charges against him, and call on the Austin Police Department to demand they stop doing ICE’s dirty work.
Last year ICE began monitoring Luis on social media and asked the Austin Police Department for help surveilling him without a warrant. Instead of following their own protocols as a Freedom City, the Austin Police Department decided to proactively collaborate with ICE and used a mental health call at a wrong address in the neighborhood to get information on Luis and his family. APD’s unethical behavior helped ICE arrest Luis and he now faces prosecution for “illegal reentry.” If found guilty, Luis could face up to 20 years in prison.
Luis is part of a growing trend. Currently, more than 63% of all federal prosecutions are for immigration related charges. Many immigrants facing prosecution feel like they have no support or options, so they plead guilty. But Luis has said “I was unjustly arrested in front of my 8-month pregnant wife. She had a seizure as I was being taken, and I haven’t met my son. I want people to know what APD is doing and how they are helping ICE separate families. I am fighting because I want nothing more than to go to my home in East Austin and hold my wife and son.” Please stand with him so that he knows he is not alone.
Luis is a part of our community; he should be allowed to stay in the United States to meet his son and help raise him. Sign here to demand Assistant US Attorney Grant Sparks drop all charges against him, and call on the Austin Police Department to demand they stop doing ICE’s dirty work.
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