Detainment Task Force Rally
Saturday, May 24
at Regional Transportation Center
(Amtrak & Greyhound Station)
from 11 a.m. - noon
WHAT: A peaceful but life-affirming rally, there will be walking the picket line, music, a few short speeches, prayers, written testimonies and leafleting so that prospective travelers can make informed decisions about whether they wish to choose this form of transportation.
Anyone planning to take part should be aware that there will be Border Patrol agents present in and around this facility.
It is our task to honor the memories of our own immigrant ancestors (their struggles, their sacrifices, their belief that this country offered opportunities) and to support the integrity of families against unjust separations.
Why the Regional Transportation Center? Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have routinely been boarding buses and trains between Buffalo and Syracuse, NY. Calling Syracuse a "port of entry" and using racial profiling (picking out darker-skinned individuals and listening for accents) to single out "suspects", Border Patrol and ICE are creating a climate of fear for those taking public transportation and detaining unsuspecting travelers. Amtrak and Greyhound are taking a position of collaboration in these efforts which separate families and deny constitutional rights for a civilian-not criminal-matter.
This is just one more tactic which immigration officials are using in their detention-as-enforcement policy, and we will be gathering to demand Border Patrol and ICE "get off the bus" and that Amtrak and Greyhound stop collaborating in these efforts!