Story and photos by Pete Shaw After Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to take him into custody in 2014, Francisco Aguirre made a desperate phone call. Thirty minutes later a car arrived at his home, and soon Aguirre found himself taking sanctuary in Augustana Lutheran Church in Northeast Portland. He would remain there for…
Tag: Immigration
75 Years On, Story of Japanese American Incarceration Disturbing Mirror for Current Immigrant and Refugee Policies
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw It’s been 75 years since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the forced incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. The order, which in an immediate sense was a response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, resulted in a…
Solidarity on Display as Citizens Rally in Resistance to Trump Executive Orders
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Story by Pete Shaw In a boisterous show of solidarity, over 1,000 people came together Monday January 30 for a No Ban, No Wall rally. The assembly was composed of a wide array of individuals and city, state and regional organizations opposed to President Donald Trump’s racist executive orders banning immigrants and refugees from seven…
Illegal Re-entry Charge Against Francisco Aguirre Dropped; Fight with ICE Continues
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Francisco Aguirre, the immigrant justice activist who for 81 days in 2014 took sanctuary in Augustana Lutheran Church when the US government threatened to detain and deport him, returned there on Sunday June 19. However, this time the cause was celebratory. On May 27, Assistant US Attorney Greg Nyhus…
Portland Committee Recommends City Divestment from Wells Fargo Due to For-Profit Prison Link
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Story by Pete Shaw After several months of deliberation and community input, the Socially Responsible Investments Committee (SRIC) voted unanimously to recommend that the City of Portland divest its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company due to the company’s financing of for-profit prisons and “morally bankrupt” lending practices. The City currently holds $40 million in…
Immigrant Rights Vigil Casts Wide Net by Including Refugees from Many Cultures
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Voz and the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) held a candlelight vigil on the night of November 19, calling for an end to the detentions and deportations that have torn apart many immigrant families and communities. The action was part of a national week of action promoted by immigrant…
Public Support Welcome at Wednesday Trial of Community Activist Aguirre
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Story by Pete Shaw Francisco Aguirre, the immigrant and labor organizer who is being persecuted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice (DoJ), will have a trial this Wednesday, October 21, at 11 AM that will determine if he is guilty of illegal re-entry into the United States. The case has…
Eritrean Refugee and 33-Year Portland Resident in Fourth Year of Detention, Faces Deportation
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO) and the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition held a rally in front of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison on Wednesday October 7 calling for the release of Thomas Amanuel, an Eritrean refugee. Amanuel, 38, has lived in Portland for 33 years. He…
Aguirre Battles for Right to Remain in US as DOJ, ICE Appear Intent On Deporting Activist
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Rights activists, labor leaders, faith leaders, and lawyers gathered at the Federal Building in downtown Portland on October 1 to rally for Francisco Aguirre and deliver a letter signed by 118 organizations nationwide asking the US Attorney General to dismiss criminal charges of re-entry into the United States against…
Activism Results in Easing of Restrictive and Inhumane Mother, Child Detentions at US Border
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Story by Pete Shaw Early 2014 saw a marked upsurge in the number of mothers and children fleeing violence in Central America. Troubles with family, gangs and drug cartels (to name a few) in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala has pushed these families to seek asylum in the United States–the country ultimately responsible for much of…