Haitian Community Activist Jean Montrevil Faces Deportation..and a call for solidarity.

On Wednesday morning, Jean Montrevil was attending a regular immigration check-in when he was detained by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE. He now faces deportation to Haiti for a twenty-year-old drug conviction, for which he has already served eleven years in prison. He has not broken any laws since then. Montrevil is married to an American citizen and is the father of four US citizen children. Montrevil is a longtime community leader in New York City and active in a number of immigrant rights groups, including Families for Freedom, the NYC New Sanctuary Movement, and Detention Watch Network.
Listen/Watch/Read:http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/31/haitian_community_activist_jean_montrevil_faces

Dear Friends,
Last we heard, our brother Jean is still detained at York Prison in Pennsylvania. He sends his love and gratitude to all of you. He knows how hard we are fighting and if there's one thing Jean has taught us, it is to never back down.

We have 3 action alerts for right now:
1. We urge you to CONTINUE to call, email, and fax the contacts listed in the attached document. If you call and the voice mail box is full or unavailable, just be sure to send an email and/or fax instead. After you have done this, please reach out to 5 friends and ask them to do the same. It is CRITICAL that we continue our advocacy work through this weekend and into Monday, when many of these people will be returning to their offices, hopefully INUNDATED with our appeals!

2. We are planning an emergency bus trip to the ICE offices in Washington DC for Tuesday, 1/5. We need at least 50 people, including at least 5 faith leaders, to take this step. If you are interested, please let us know at info@newsanctuarynyc.org or 646 395 2925. More details to follow soon.

3. At this afternoon's energizing press conference, 24 of us began a fast for Jean's release and in solidarity with the courageous families in Florida who began fasting indefinitely today. We invite you to join in the fast (for any length of time) if you feel so moved. For more information, check out the blog we've linked from our website to publicize all that's been happening: http://newsanctuarynyc.org/recentnews.php You'll also find photos from today's press conference (Many thanks to all who came!) and more.

*Please announce these 3 action alerts at your weekend services.* - Fliers are attached to facilitate #1 and #3, and you can do a simple sign-up sheet for #2. Let us know if you need anything else to make this happen.

Thank you for your fighting spirits and compassionate hearts during this dark hour. Let us encourage each other with Jean's words from when the New Sanctuary Coalition was just getting started:
"On behalf of all immigrants who are facing deportation and separation from their families, and their loved ones, I want to tell you we need you - as people of faith, as community leaders - we need your voices to help stop the destruction of families."

And continue to stay tuned...

NEW SANCTUARY COALITION - NYC
239 Thompson Street
New York, New York 10012
phone (new!) #646 395 2925
fax #212 995 0844
http://www.newsanctuarynyc.org