Michigan Dems urge ICE to release Detroit high school students

BY KATHERINE DAILEY, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—State and federal legislators from the Detroit area sent a letter on Tuesday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials asking for the release of four students who attend Western International High School, a part of Detroit Public Schools, who, along with their parents have been detained by ICE.

Those students are Kerly Mariangel Sosa Rivero and her father Gleiner Jose Sosa Mujica; Antony Janier Peña Sosa and his mother Maryeli Antonieta Sosa Marquina; Mor Ba; and Santiago Jesus Zamora Perez and his mother Evelin Josefina Perez, all of whom were seeking asylum from Venezuela besides Ba, who was seeking asylum from Senegal.

“Kerly, Antony, Mor, Santiago, along with parents Gleiner, Maryeli and Evelin are simply following the immigration process and trying to gain asylum as they seek a better life in Detroit,” the letter from legislators stated. “The students’ teachers and community leaders have spoken about how respectful the students are and have spoken publicly about their desire that ICE release them immediately, a call that resonates deeply throughout the Detroit community.”

“The abduction of these students is unconscionable,” state Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) wrote in a press release from her office. “These students and their families came to this country to seek a better life and instead are the victims of political violence at the hands of an indiscriminating agency that is abusing its power.”

State Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Township) echoed these concerns, noting that all of the students and families involved had active asylum cases and were following legal immigration procedures.

“These Detroit students should be in their classrooms, not torn from their community,” US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) said. “I am demanding their immediate release. Our children deserve safety, human dignity, the love of their families, and the freedom to pursue their dreams without being terrorized by a system that treats them as disposable.”

“ICE must release them immediately so they can continue their education, keep their families together, and pursue their asylum cases with dignity,” Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero said. “Detroiters will not look away while our children are taken. We stand with our students and the immigrant families who make our city strong.”

482Forward, an educational advocacy group based out of Detroit, has also urged residents to attend the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board meeting on Tuesday night to advocate for the release of the students, as well as to push district administrators to update their sanctuary policies to be more comprehensive.

The letter was signed by state Sens. Geiss, Chang, Cavanagh, Jeremy Moss, Sylvia Santana and Darrin Camilleri and state Reps. Mai Xiong, Veronica Paiz and Stephanie Young, as well as Tlaib and Santiago-Romero.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.