A truck from U.S. Customs and Border Protection drove by fasting pro-immigration activists outside Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-FL) offices Monday, according to local reports from the Miami Herald and the Miami New Times.
Activists on the scene — where some are in the middle of a week-long fast — said the action was an attempt by CBP agents to intimidate protesters advocating for a “clean” DREAM Act and protections for recipients of so-called Temporary Protected Status, thousands of whom now face deportation.
“So far 1 hr into us being outside of Rubio’s office and they already are doing intimidation tactics, having ICE drive by our location slowly, and trying to kick us off the side walk,” wrote Paula Muñoz, who attended the protest, on Facebook.
A regional spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Nestor Yglesias, said the vehicle appearing in photos by Muñoz and other activists belonged to CBP, not ICE. Both agencies are part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Keith Smith, a spokesperson for CBP in Florida, told TPM in a statement Wednesday: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel travel regularly as part of routine activities and normal business. There are six CBP offices with a fleet of approximately 100 vehicles in the area of Miami International Airport and Sen. Rubio’s office. CBP Officers frequently use the route along which the protest occurred to commute during the normal operational scope of their duties, as was the case on that day. CBP officers enforce the nation’s laws while preserving the civil rights and civil liberties of all people with whom CBP personnel interact.”
.@ICEgov just sent a truck to intimidate the dreamers fasting outside of the offices of Senator @marcorubio and Congressman @MarioDB. #CleanDreamAct #DreamActNow pic.twitter.com/aJYHdfInJ1
— Tomas Kennedy (@Tomaskenn) December 4, 2017
President Donald Trump ended DACA, the Obama-era program shielding qualified undocumented young people from immediate deportation, in September. Neither the White House nor Congress has made much progress in replacing the program, spelling trouble for hundreds of thousands of undocumented young people who handed sensitive information over to the federal government.
Temporary Protected Status is a deportation protection granted to undocumented individuals from certain countries who face political or environmental turmoil if they are deported. Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke announced the termination of TPS protections for undocumented Haitians and Nicaraguans living in the United States in November.
Duke said of TPS-eligible Hondurans, whose status is in question: “[A]dditional time is necessary to obtain and assess supplemental information pertaining to country conditions in Honduras.”
Make America America Again!
Run for office- the 2018 elections are less than a year away! And if Trump and Louie Gohmert can get elected what’s to stop a qualified candidate?
Become a Precinct Committee Officer, sometimes it’s a Ward officer. You’ll meet with neighborhood Dems and get out the vote. Find good citizens willing to run for office.
Register people to vote. If you need to help people overcome the GOP-led Voter run-around help them do that.
Run for School Board. Make sure Civics is being properly taught. Think a majority of America knows how government works? Just 26% of eligible voters in America voted for Trump and half of eligible voters stayed home last November. Today’s 12-year olds will be voting for President in 8 years.
Run for Mayor, City Council, County Commissioner, Borough Assembly.
Get appointed to your Planning Commission. Know everything going on in your community.
Run for State Legislature or Congress. The next census is in 2020, just over 2 years from now, when we redraw Congressional Districts.
And get rid of GERRYMANDERING! Safe GOP seats gave us such intellectual giants as Louie Gohmert and Steve King. In most cases it’s the state Legislature that draws Congressional boundaries. Make it FAIR, OPEN and HONEST! We can do this!
Overturn Citizens United. Money is NOT speech and Corporations are NOT people- at least not until Texas executes one, and overturn any voter ID laws that are clearly an attempt to disenfranchise the poor and people of color.
.
“If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself.”
-President Barack Obama
“Those who would purposely mislead or seek to confuse others are bad people. Worse, they are evil.”
-Kathleen Parker
You Got To Run!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zb0WTSLsYCredit Racist Elf and the DOJ for this stunt. Ironic that it happened outside Rubios office?? Orange Hitler and this fool want to make it clear; black and brown undocumented Americans are NOT welcome here.
Hopefully Dems can negotiate something to restore DACA in the impending Govt. shutdown issue…that happens Friday, right?
@maricaibo said it all but I’ll add one thing—it feels really, really good to be part of the fight. A lot of folks who just aren’t activist types will still applaud you. And in my experience, most normal Republicans are pretty dispirited. At any rate, I helped a local district justice candidate, or at least my efforts didn’t actually hurt him, because he crushed a much better financed opponent. Huge wins in my area across the board, including historic wins at the county level where we hadn’t won a row office in 150 years. I’m telling you, be part of this. Don’t be cynical—that never won a fight yet. If everyone shows up we can do this.
I love the smell of the Authoritarian State in the morning.
Smells like horse shit.
I’m skeptical that anyone was “sent”.
More likely a Customs employee was either on a job in the area, or thought he was being a smartass by “buzzing the tower”.
Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.