• Amnesty activists block buses, court to try to stop Ariz. deportations

    Amnesty activists block buses, court to try to stop Ariz. deportations

    Immigrant-rights activists said Friday morning they are blocking buses in Tucson, Ariz., filled with illegal immigrants who are on their way to be being sentenced to jail and then processed for deportation.


    Tucson Police Department officers use pepper spray to force protesters back onto the sidewalk Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, in Tucson, Ariz. Tucson police used pepper spray to help disperse some of the more than 100 people protesting the detention of two immigrants who had been detained after a traffic stop. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Perla Trevizo)


    The activists said those on the buses are part of Operation Streamline, which is designed to give illegal immigrants jail sentences before they are deported, as a deterrent to keep them from trying to reenter the country in the future. The activists, though, say the program circumvents due process rights.

    By Stephen Dinan
    The Washington Times
    Updated: 1:12 p.m. on Friday, October 11, 2013

    “Anyone who witnesses Operation Streamline will come away convinced that it is both unconstitutional and immoral,” said activist Roberto Cintli Rodriguez. “There is no justice in that courtroom. It violates every principle the U.S. claims to ascribe to. When humanity is confronted with unjust laws, it is our responsibility to challenge them.”

    Friday’s move was a precursor to more demonstrations next week, when the activists plan to try to shut down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Phoenix.

    The activists posted live video of their protest online, showing some marching with signs in the middle of the road that read “End Streamline.”

    Others were lying down next to the bus tires to try to make sure the vehicles couldn’t move.

    In another video stream activists had blockaded the entrance to the court where the illegal immigrants were supposed to be processed. The activists had linked arms inside of tubes, which makes it more difficult for authorities to separate them and remove them.

    One of those shooting the video said there were 70 people on the buses, and they were showing their shackles through the windows.

    “Today for the first time in six years, we’ve seen streamline be stopped,” said one man on the video feed.

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...al-immigrants/
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Activists block buses, court to try to stop Ariz. deportations started by Jean View original post