WHAT:
Justice for Ana Romero Petition
WHERE:
Click here to go to petition website & sign.
DETAILS:
The recent tragic death of Ana Romero while in the Franklin County, Kentucky jail raises many questions of morality, decency, and the humane treatment of persons awaiting deportation.
We, the undersigned family members, organizations and individuals, motivated by our consciences and our faiths, demand answers to these questions.
We demand justice and a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ana Romero’s death.
We demand a moratorium on the raids and deportations of immigrants until such time as we obtain a fair, humane, and comprehensive immigration reform that our country so badly needs.
This petition is part of a broader campaign gaining momentum to try to break the logjams, to shine a bright light on these realities, and let justice flow down like rivers of fresh sparkling water on this parched land of much indifference.
Please send your signed petition to:
Justice for Ana Romero
c/o Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
560 East Third Street Suite 203
Lexington, KY USA 40508
Phone 859-685-0387
Fax 859-685-0399
The Full Petition:
The recent tragic death of Ana Romero while in the Franklin County, Kentucky jail raises many questions of morality, decency, and the humane treatment of persons awaiting deportation. Ana Romero (44 years old) was living and working in Shelbyville cleaning houses in order to support her 84 year-old mother and two grown sons in college in El Salvador.
In January of 2008, Ana was arrested at home and detained for possessing a false immigration document and for failure to obey a deportation order. Ana's arrest was one small part of the massive national campaign by ICE (immigration and Customs Enforcement) which has included huge raids, unnecessary and excessively harsh criminal prosecutions, sweeping violations of due process rights, and an unprecedented increase in deportations. The most infamous examples of this have been the roundly denounced large-scale raids in Pottsville, Iowa, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Laurel, Mississippi. These operations have torn families apart, including many U.S. citizens, and has instilled pervasive fear in our communities owing to the terrorizing tactics used by the authorities and the lack of due process afforded the immigrants afterwards.
Whether or not you agree with the criminalization of immigrant workers and families who have entered the U.S. without documents, the consequences of the Ana Romero case should touch a nerve. During her nearly 8 month imprisonment in the county jail while awaiting deportation, Ana was distraught and suffered from medical ailments, refusing to eat the food which she told family members “…stinks and there is something wrong with it.”
Shortly before her death, she was placed in solitary confinement. Her jailers have yet to explain why this was done.
Although the state autopsy indicates that Ana Romero died of asphyxiation by hanging, the circumstances of her death continue to be investigated. Her family has requested a second opinion because they do not believe she took her own life, given that she was waiting anxiously to return to her country and her loved ones.
The delayed public disclosure of the autopsy results and the silence from the relevant authorities only highlights the potentially scandalous nature of this case. Is there something they are trying to cover up?
The family of Ana Romero and the general public deserve answers.
What kind of treatment do persons awaiting deportation receive in jail?
Why was Ana Romero placed in solitary confinement?
What was the true cause of her death?
How can deaths such as Ana's be avoided in the future?
While we all know that immigration policy needs fundamental reform, how many hard-working immigrants, many U.S. citizens, across the U.S. are going to have to suffer from the deepening climate of repression and fear created by the racist and exclusionary policies implemented by ICE?
How much longer will low-paid, hard-working communities of immigrants be traumatized by raids and detentions?
We, the undersigned family members, organizations, and individuals, motivated by our consciences and our faiths, demand answers to these questions.
We demand justice and a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ana Romero’s death.
We demand a full reporting of all the information learned, so that her family and loved ones can get an honest and complete explanation of how and why she died in the Franklin County jail and so they may have spiritual closure.
We demand moral, decent, and humane treatment for all persons in jail, regardless of their legal status, national origin, skin color, or language.
We demand the due process rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution.
Finally, we ask all public officials involved in this situation, from the federal government, to the Kentucky state government and all other state governments, to the county and city governments all over this land to implement a moratorium on the raids and deportations of immigrants until such time as we obtain a fair, humane, and comprehensive immigration reform that our country so badly needs.
A moratorium on deportations was recently announced for those immigrants evacuating areas of Texas and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ike. This moratorium should be expanded immediately to include all immigrants nationwide in order to stop the terror, destruction of families, and economic disruptions causing so much fear, pain, and grief in our communities.
Let’s solve our broken immigration system in a way that benefits all and treats all fairly, in accordance with national and international standards of justice and human rights.
Shelbyville, Kentucky
September 14, 2008
SPONSORS:
Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Phone 859-685-0387
Fax 859-685-0399
