Via Facebook
A federal judge Monday ordered the immediate release of immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers earlier this month. Manhattan Judge Katherine Forrest called Ragbir’s detention “unnecessarily cruel.”
Judge Forrest wrote that Ragbir, who was ordered to be deported to his native Trinidad and Tobago, should have been granted “the freedom to say goodbye.” Ragbir was abruptly arrested during a routine check-in, which according to Forrest was a violation of his right to due process.
“It ought not to be — and it has never before been — that those who have lived without incident in this country for years are subjected to treatment we associate with regimes we revile as unjust, regimes where those who have long lived in a country may be taken without notice from streets, home, and work. And sent away,” said Judge Forrest, who read aloud her written opinion. “We are not that country, and woe be the day that we become that country under a fiction that laws allow it.”
Thank you to the amazing community who brought Ravi home, back to his wife Amy and all the people who love him. The fight is not over and we need you to continue to stand up for justice and humanity. #IStandWithRavi @NewSanctuaryNYC pic.twitter.com/iboFPeeeZE
— Alina Das (@Das_Alina) January 30, 2018
According to The New York Times, Ragbir’s supporters in the courtroom erupted into cheers, and news quickly spread to those waiting outside. Many in attendance were from New Sanctuary Coalition, the immigrant rights organization of which Ragbir is the executive director.
“My faith in our system has been restored,” Ragbir’s wife, Amy Gottlieb, told The Nation. “This is beautiful—this is what our judiciary is set up to do.” Gottlieb, who is Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez’s guest to the State of the Union Address Tuesday, will bring Ragbir as well.
ICE released a statement Monday expressing its concerns with Judge Forrest’s tone. According to the statement, ICE is also “actively exploring its appellate options.”
The deportation orders for Indian descent Ragbir stem from a 2000 wire fraud conviction, during which his permanent residency was revoked. After spending 22 months in immigration detention, ICE granted Ragbir several stays of removal, which allowed him to remain in the country given that he attend annual check-ins.
Alina Das, Ragbir’s attorney, told WNYC that a case challenging Ragbir’s wire fraud conviction is pending in New Jersey. While this case is underway, Ragbir cannot be deported.
“Ultimately, we all know that it’s the community support for Ragbir that’s the reason he remains at home,” Das said after the hearing. “It’s our hope that those voices will continue to be heard.”
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