ANSWER Coalition Action Alert
Stop the unjust deportation of Ruben Quinteros!
No human being is illegal! No family should be ripped apart!
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With just two minutes of your time, you can help stop a grave injustice from being done. A sample letter is provided for you.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is unjustly detaining and trying to deport Ruben Quinteros, a hard-working immigrant and family man from Uruguay who has lived and worked in New Jersey for over 10 years. Ruben is not a criminal, yet ICE agents arrested him at his workplace on Sept. 15, 2011. He is now being held in Delaney Hall, New Jersey under the threat of deportation.
Ruben was just one week away from getting married to his partner of two years, Neida Lavayen, a U.S. citizen and mother of two. Upon his arrest, Ruben's and Neida's lives were turned upside down. Instead of planning for their upcoming wedding, Ruben and Neida were thrown into a state of anguish and indefinite uncertainty. Their plans for a bright future together were dashed. Neida tried to reach him many times, but Ruben was taken to a detention center and held incommunicado for hours.
Neida rushed to find legal counsel, willing to empty her entire life savings in order to pay for a lawyer. Despite her desperate pleas for help, she was turned down by dozens of attorneys. They all claimed that there was nothing they could do to stop Ruben's deportation. According to ICE, since Ruben entered the United States on a visa "waiver," he does not have the right to go to court or even see a judge. They say they can deport him without any hint of due process under the law!
The ANSWER Coalition believes that no human being should be considered "illegal." ANSWER has marched with allies in the immigrant rights movement to demand legalization and equality for all and to end the racist deportations carried out by the Bush administration and, now, the Obama White House. Winning full rights for immigrants is a civil rights issue.
When ANSWER heard about Ruben's case, we immediately jumped into action. ANSWER Coalition organizer and immigration attorney in Chicago, Heather Benno, stepped in to mount a legal campaign to stop Ruben's deportation and get him back to his family where he belongs.
Ruben's situation is a travesty of justice. It shines a spotlight on the contradictions inherent to the broken immigration system in the United States. President Obama recently announced a policy change, stating that ICE would prioritize the deportation of "dangerous criminals" and refrain from focusing on undocumented immigrants who contribute productively to society. Yet, Ruben now sits in a deportation holding cell in one of the most isolated, difficult detention centers in the country, not knowing if or when he and his family will be ripped apart.
Ruben's case is like that of so many other immigrants, who came to the United States for jobs and opportunity. There are tens of thousands of students and workers—all of them U.S. tax-payers—who are waiting as ICE moves to deport them.
Ruben is neither a criminal nor dangerous. He is a kind, generous, hard-working family man. His fiancée is a U.S. citizen with children who need him and know him like a father.
Despite all of this, ICE is trying to deport him.
Take urgent action to stop Ruben's deportation
Ruben's family, friends and other community members are working hard to stop his deportation and win his immediate release from the ICE detention center. They have sent dozens of letters of support, made dozens of calls to local and national representatives and contacted over 150 press outlets, all to bring attention to this case.
We are urgently asking for your help.
You can also call the White House switchboard, the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress to urge them to stop the deportation of Ruben Quinteros now.
White House: 202-456-1414
Department of Homeland Security: 202-282-8495
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ): 202-224-4744
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ): 202-224-3224
Congressman Donald Payne, (D-NJ): 202-225-3436
Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ): 202-225-7919
You can make a difference in Ruben's life and take a stand for equality.