OUR STATE & FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS PRIORITIZE LOCKING US UP & BREAKING OUR FAMILIES APART OVER PROVIDING US WITH THE BASIC HUMAN SERVICES WE NEED TO LIVE OUR LIVES WITH DIGNITY.

On September 21, 2010, four Cambodian-American community members were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 1600 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia.

THEY WERE INCARCERATED AT YORK COUNTY PRISON FOR OVER EIGHT MONTHS, SEPARATED FROM THEIR CHILDREN, FAMILIES, HOMES AND JOBS. THEY WERE DEPORTED TO CAMBODIA IN MAY AND JUNE OF THIS YEAR. 

This scenario, and much worse, is playing out for thousands of families across the country every, single day. ICE has NO accountability to us as a community - yet they have the power to shatter our families, our homes, and our futures.

WHAT WE WANT:

• ICE to consider the effects detention has on families and communities by opting for alternatives such as supervised released and monitoring - keeping good people in custody for undetermined amounts of time, and away from their families and jobs is not a solution.

• ICE to consider the effects deportation has on families and communities by initiating a process of individualized review of all cases based on personal merit and context - just because someone has an order of removal, does NOT mean it is in the best interests of the community and our country for it to be executed.

And lastly, we want our elected officials to stand with us for these demands. We are being broken apart in the cities, districts and states that you represent. We are calling on you to back us up in our fight to be treated with dignity as contributing members of society. We are calling on you to support us in our fight to keep our families together.