Emergency Rally to Protest Recent INS Mass Detentions of : Houston Indymedia

Please attend this rally tomorrow. We must respond to these outrageous attacks on our immigrant brothers and sisters quickly. We have worked hard together with other groups to make this happen,
and some really good unity is being forged that will help us respond more quickly, and more powerfully in the future.

Emilio
La Resistencia-Houston Chapter
713-269-5270
---------------------------------------------

Emergency Rally to Protest Recent INS Mass Detentions of
Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Immigrants

Monday, December 23, 2002
5pm to 6pm
Corner of Montrose and Westheimer in Houston,

Sponsors: La Resistencia, Progressive Workers Organizing Committee, Harris
County Green Party, ANSWER Coalition, People Against Oppression and War,
Seeds of Peace, and Houston Coalition for Justice Not War.

To demand: 1) Stop the Repression---Release All Detainees!
2) Stop All INS “Interviews” based on racial profiling.
3) Abolish the PATRIOT ACT
4) Release Names of All Detainees Now!

Contact: Emilio Bateman at 713-269-5270, or
Dr. David Michael Smith at 281-534-7638

-----------

The participating organizations feel an urgent need to respond to the outrageous mass detentions of immigrants that have occurred in Los Angeles under the Special Registration program of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). These are specifically targeted at certain middle eastern immigrants, and have been widely denounced by civil liberties groups, and organizations within the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. It is urgent that these communities know that they are not alone, and that others will come to their aid.

The Los Angeles Times estimated that fully ONE FOURTH of those appearing or the INS' Special Registration program this last week were arrested.
People who were trying to comply with this outrageous program are being arrested!--and those who are scared off as a result of this,become by definition outside the law.

In Los Angeles, 3,000 Iranians demonstrated against this outrage, which is being widely compared to the Nazi round-ups of Jews, and the US government’s internment of Japanese Immigrants and Japanese Americans during World War 2.

The Houston Chronicle showed the picture of a distraught Iranian woman crying after her 16-year old son was grabbed and taken by INS agents.

We denounce these gestapo-like tactics, and demand

1) Stop the Repression---Release All Detainees!

2) Stop All INS “Interviews” based on racial profiling!

3) Abolish the PATRIOT ACT!

4) Release Names of All Detainees Now!