Families For Freedom
June 14, 2018
A longtime member of Families For
Freedom is in danger of being removed.
In protest of his prolonged
detention, Pius Iyamu has been on hunger strike since May 11, 2018. In what
appears to be retaliation for his strike, ICE and jail officials at Irwin
County Correctional Facility indicated yesterday their intent to put Pius on a
plane to Texas to facilitate his deportation in the coming days. As of this
morning, neither Pius's wife nor Families For Freedom are aware of Pius's
location.
In addition to the threat of
removal, these officials told Pius that they would pursue criminal charges
against him if he did not break his hunger strike. They are using the threat of
further incarceration in an attempt to force him to relent to his removal after
a period of brave and solitary resistance.
Families For Freedom has been in
consistent contact with Pius and his family since 2013, when he was first
detained by ICE. We supported Pius during his incarceration then, eventually
helping him get released. He was arrested and incarcerated again in 2016, and
has spent the intervening two years separated from his wife and daughters and
detained in some of the worst facilities in the country.
He was arrested and incarcerated
again in 2016, and has been separated from his wife and daughters since. One
year ago, Pius filed a habeas corpus petition to challenge his prolonged
detention, which the government has dragged its heels on despite no travel
document being issued for his removal. Now, after keeping Pius in the dark
about the status of his case for months, the government is acting suddenly in
what appears to be retaliation for his hunger strike.
On the phone with us yesterday,
Pius said the following: "I started this hunger strike because of the
situation I am in. I have been held by ICE for two years with no court date.
They have pushed me around from state to state, facility to facility, east to
west coast. I have decided to go on hunger strike because I feel like someone
needs to know what's going on with me... I am a father with a wife and
daughters at home. They have a lot of medical issues and I am just trying to
get back to them. It's hard. This is hard. All I am worried about now is my
freedom. Any help and support that anyone can give to me will mean a lot. I
just want to get free."
Please support Pius and his
family by sharing this with your networks and contacting the Atlanta field
office by phone and email.
Ask ICE to stop its coercive
intimidation of Pius and demand he be released to his family.
Atlanta ERO Field Office Phone: 404-893-1210
Field Office Director Sean
Gallagher sean.gallagher@ice.dhs.gov
Melissa Harper mellissa.b.harper@ice.dhs.gov
Deputy FOD George Sterling george.sterling@ice.dhs.gov
Deportation Officer Michael
Taylor michael.taylor@ice.dhs.gov
No comments:
Post a Comment