WASHINGTON DC, USA—A south Florida based jail has released 20 out of the 22 political asylum seekers on guarantee bonds. Executive Director of North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) Satnam Singh Chahal informed Sikh24 that a Granthi Singh of Gurdwara Sahib in Miami was able to secure release of these prisoners after signing a bond.
It is notable that these youths had crossed the US border to Texas from Mexico in a six month long journey and were arrested by the US border guards. These youths had started hunger strike on July 25 to seek transfer of their cases to a local court.
With the intervention of the American Civil Liberties Union, the ICE detention authorities softened their attitude towards the asylum seekers.
“Things should never have reached this extreme point,” stated ACLU of Florida staff attorney Shalini Agarwal. “ICE needs to honor immigration enforcement priorities enumerated by the Department of Homeland Security and use its prosecutorial discretion to not detain asylum seekers without bond, especially where they have demonstrated credible fear of persecution if returned to their home countries. Their granting of bond to some of these men is an important step, but there are many more detainees like them who shouldn’t be kept behind bars while their asylum proceedings are underway.”
[…] It is notable that these youths had crossed the US border to Texas from Mexico in a six month long journey and were arrested by the US border guards. These youths had started hunger strike on July 25 to seek transfer of their cases to a local court. With the intervention of… (to read the rest of this article please click through to Sikh24 here.) […]