[antiwar-van] Immigration offices Occupied/ Wed April 25th Action

[Harsha]

On Monday, April 23, a delegation of members and allies of No One Is
Illegal-Vancouver occupied the Canadian Border Services Agency office to
demand a meeting with Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley
and her local representatives, and to bring forward demands for migrant
justice directly to those offices that quietly ruin the lives of
individuals through detentions and deportations.

The letter that was presented, including to migrants coming to the offices
all of whom were extremely supportive of the occupation and echoed the
sentiment and chant "Stop the Deportations Now!", can be found at:
http://noiivan.blogspot.com/2007/04/honourable-diane-finley-minister-of.html

The group also challenged those working for CIC and CBSA to account for
their participation in the destruction of the lives of those deported and
detained every day, including enforcement officers taking away shackled
detainees that afternoon. Stickers stating 'No One is Illegal' were
plastered all over the offices and chants throughout the afternoon brought
voice to the thousands of invisible migrants who suffer the violence of
this regime. Neither the meeting with the Minister's representatives nor a
satisfactory explaination was forthcoming. After using stalling tactics
and calling in a heavy contingent of police officers, employees quitely
ducked out a back door to the office.

It is impossible to remain silent as the lives of our community members
and loved ones are destroyed and we resolve to return on Wednesday April
25th to repeat the demand for an end to the detention and deportation by
the Canadian state of tens of thousands of people each year. Join us.

FOR EVERY MOMENT WITHOUT STATUS, FOR EVERY MINUTE IN DETENTION, FOR EVERY
INHUMANE DEPORTATION:

ON APRIL 25TH - SHUT DOWN CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION CANADA!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25TH
1 P.M.
GATHER: Front Entrance, C.I.C. - 300 West Georgia
(corner Hamilton)

How many of us have seen our friends and families go through the fear and
humiliation of detention hearings, reporting proceedings, and deportations
at 300 West Georgia? Borne the pain of the separation of our families and
communities? Witnessed the punishment and criminalization of our loved
ones for having made the courageous decision to migrate?

On April 25th we will be rallying to shut down the offices of Citizenship
& Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA)
in Vancouver - the institutions which daily take away the dignity and
security of our communities through the detention and deportation regime.

We will be shutting down CIC in response to every policy that is shutting
the border tighter - forcing up to 500,000 individuals to live without
status across the country, about 13 000 people to be deported annually;
thousands to be detained; thousands to never make it across the border due
to agreements signed by the US and Canada including the Safe Third Country
Agreement and the highly secretive Security Prosperity Partnership
Agreement; and tens of thousands of others to be forced into choosing
exploitative guest worker and temporary foreign worker programs.

As immigrants, migrants, refugees and their allies get ready to once again
take to the streets in the thousands across North America on May 1st to
demand an end to deportations and detentions and full and inclusive
regularization programs we will be rallying to join this movement for true
dignity and justice.

Immigrants, migrants and undocumented peoples have always formed the
backbone of the Canadian economy - but if our sweat and blood are good
enough for this country, so too should be our families, our well-being,
and our rights and dignity as human beings.

Join us on APRIL 25TH! Don't get silent - get in the streets!

For more information, contact:
778-840-2009
noii-van at resist.ca