Group Protests Detention of Two Immigrants
By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Nearly three dozen people attended a press conference Tuesday at the Adelante Alabama Worker Center to support two of their own who were detained by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
They sat behind media cameras as a panel of their leaders and representatives talked about Adelante board member and immigrant workers’ rights leader Marcos Baltazar and his son Juan.
But they weren’t content to stay behind the cameras, joining the panelists at the front of the room to make their support clearly visible.
“It shows how passionate they are about this,” said the Rev. Dave Barnhart of Faith in Action Alabama. “I think they recognize this is an act of intimidation. For them to show up means we’re not going to be intimidated.”
See the news conference here.
Panelists said that Baltazar and his 18-year-old son went to a routine ICE check-in last week in Homewood and were taken into custody. The two were taken to the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden.
Baltazar came to the United States from Guatemala three years ago. He was not documented but was allowed to stay in this country with his son if he periodically checked in with ICE, Adelante leaders said.
Adelante officials said they consider detention of the two as cruel and unnecessary.
“We can see clear this is an attack to our community, not just our organization but our community,” said Cesar Mata, vice president of the Adelante board. “ICE spreads fear in our community. It’s time to say stop. Marcos is one of the hardest (working) people I know. He works hard. He’s a man of faith. He speaks up against abuses.”
Panelists said Baltazar initially came to Adelante when he had a dispute with an employer who didn’t pay him.
“He took abuse from his former employer,” Mata said. “He learned how to speak up and fight for his rights. This is an attack against someone who is speaking up against these abuses of power.”
Barnhart echoed that sentiment. He is pastor of Saint Junia United Methodist Church and author of “What’s in the Bible About Church?” and “God Shows No Partiality.”
“I think it’s pretty clear that this administration is using the lie that deportation has made us safer,” he said, “when in fact it’s being weaponized against activists and people who are trying to do good in their community.”
Adelante Alabama urges supporters to call the ICE office in New Orleans – (504) 599-7845 – to get the detainees released. A GoFundMe page has been established for their support: bit.ly/supportformarcos
From bromance to breakup: How Elon Musk and Donald Trump blew up
The blow up marks the end of an alliance between the president and the billionaire that lasted far longer than many observers expected.
Israel says it’s arming clans to fight Hamas in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the government was arming factions in the Gaza Strip to combat Hamas, after accusations from an opposition politician.
Trump’s travel ban includes Afghanistan, where thousands await U.S. resettlement
President Trump's travel ban on a dozen countries includes Afghanistan. Since American troops left in August of 2021, many Afghans have already arrived in the U.S. but many more are still waiting.
After his mother’s death, Ocean Vuong wrote his way out of grief
Vuong's new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, is the first he's written, from start to finish, since his mother died in 2019. He says writing it was a way to honor her memory.
Trump says he and Musk ‘had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore’
Trump said he was surprised that his former adviser Elon Musk is scorching the Republican megabill, but said he thought Musk was wrong and conflicted in his criticism.
Concerns over conditions in U.S. immigration detention: ‘We’re hearing the word “starving” ‘
ICE detentions have surged, but deportations have lagged. Over the past month, NPR spoke to dozens of detainees, families and lawyers who spoke of overcrowded facilities lacking food and medicine.
