[Sanctuarycity_hamilton] *Time Sensitive* please respond to using Coalition as supporter for anti-deportation campaign

[Caitlin Craven]

Hi folks!

Hope you are all well and staying warm! I assume many of you remember the
email circulated by Ken Stone back in December about the support meeting
for the Justice for Farai campaign.  Blake and I were able to attend and
have ended up getting involved in the organizing to support Farai and
challenge his deportation order.  He is scheduled to be deported on January
13 (more details coming out once the campaign statement is approved by the
lawyer and group).  The basics are that Farai, a young black man, was
wrongly accused of a crime and pressured into pleading guilty.  After
serving his sentence, he has be scheduled to be deported back to Zimbabwe
even though his mother and siblings are here in Canada.  It's a pretty
horrendous case and a lot of people are coming together to organize around
it.

Blake and I wanted to check in because while we have been participating as
individuals in the organizing, folks wanted to know if they could use the
Hamilton Sanctuary City Coalition as a named supporter of the campaign.
This would help lend support to the campaign and let people know that there
is community support behind Farai. I know there aren't a lot of details
here, and I'm happy to answer other questions folks have about the case,
but I also think it is a good thing for our group to be public about our
opposition to deportations.  I also wanted to check that it is okay with
the group for us to use the database of supporters we have to circulate
information about the campaign once the public message is ready.

Anyway, if people are able to let us know if they are comfortable with the
campaign using Sanctuary City as a supporter as soon as possible (this is a
time sensitive issue) that would be great!  Again, happy to answer any
other questions as best as I can if there are any concerns.

Thanks all!
Caitlin


-- 
"...there are no beginnings, not even to stories.  There are only places
where you make an entrance into someone else's life and either stay or turn
and go away." Timothy Findley
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