Yousef's hearing starts at 2 p.m. We will hold a support rally outside the courthouse beginning at 1 p.m. Bring signs. We will also have an open mic if anyone would like to speak. After the rally we will attend the hearing in suppport of Yousef.
Write letters of support: Anyone writing letters of support can email those letters to Yousef Ajin'sattorney, Christopher Vreeland, cvreeland@vvlawpc.com. They are asking that all letters include the name, address, and phone number for the person writing the letter, and be signed. On official letterhead if applicable. They are asking that all letters be sent by midnight, Monday, February 27th. Letters can also be in support of the four children who are students in AAPS/WISD and who depend upon Mr. Ajin as the sole breadwinner for the family.
--------------------------
Yousef Ajin was not given bond at his last hearing on February 14th. His next hearing has been scheduled for TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH AT 2 PM.
Yousef Ajin is a father who has lived in America for 18 years, with a child going to school in Ann Arbor. Yousef has been working toward citizenship for over a year, and he was set to receive citizenship in March.
On Mondays he would go to immigration offices in Detroit for the required check-in that many immigrants on the path to citizenship must do. However, last Monday he went for this routine check-in and never came back. He is now being held in a detention center in Kalamazoo.
Sadly, this underhanded tactic of detaining immigrants as they go in for their regular check-ins has become common in the ICE playbook under Trump. Their victims in these cases are usually people like Yousef, who have made America their home and have lived here for decades. Yousef, and people like him, cannot just be removed from their homes, torn from their loved ones, and removed from their communities; we cannot allow it.
Yousef was denied bond on February 14th for no reason other than the supposed "crime" of being born in a different country. The problem with calling being born in a different country a "crime" is how inhumane and cruel it is to call a human being "illegal" for wanting to better themselves and their lives.
For far too long, deportation has been treated as a victimless crime in America. Now is more the time than ever to do everything in our power to stop the deportations of innocent people, people like Yousef. We must go all out to his hearing on the 28th in order to protect him and his family, and to make it clear that we will not accept attacks on our most vulnerable community members.
THE LOGISTICS
--------------------------
We must come out in droves for Yousef's case on the 28th. We have to make it clear with every chance we get that we stand with Yousef and his family.
At this moment, we are planning to go to the court house to show support for Yousef. Letters in support of Yousef that demand his release will also be incredibly helpful.
Please share this event with everyone you know, as well as any organizations that you may be a part of. It is absolutely vital that as many people are present for Yousef's hearing as possible. It is necessary that we are there to put the demand on his judge to free him from detention immediately.