Judge grants immigration activist 'the right to say goodbye'

Ravi Ragbir

IN A MOVING ruling, a federal judge in Manhattan federal court has ordered the immediate release of immigrant rights leader Ravi Ragbir from detention in New York, calling it “unnecessarily cruel.”

The decision by U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest did not stop Ragbir's deportation, but it did grant him "the right to say goodby."

Ragbir is the executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City. He’s been held since he was detained last month following a check-in with ICE.

In her ruling, Judge Forrest wrote: “There is, and ought to be in this country, the freedom to say goodbye. That is, freedom to hug one’s spouse and children, the freedom to organize the myriad of human affairs that collect over time. It ought not to be–and it has never before been–that those who have lived without incident in this country for years are subjected to treatment we associated with regimes we revile as unjust, regimes where those who have long lived in a country may be taken away without notice from streets, home, and work. And sent away. We are not that country; and woe be the day that we become that country under a fiction that laws allow it. We have a law higher than any that may be so interpreted-and that is our Constitution.”

RELATED: Outspoken immigration activist faces deportation

She concluded by writing: “Having carefully reviewed the submissions and entire record in this matter, and having heard the parties, the Court is convinced that it must grant the petition for habeas corpus. Constitutional principles of due process and the avoidance of unnecessary cruelty here allow and provide for an early departure. Petitioner is entitled to the freedom to say goodbye. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that petitioner shall be immediately released from custody.”

Read the complete order in which Judge Katherine B. Forrest orders Ragbir’s release.

Ragbir immigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad in 1991, but lost his legal status when he was convicted of wire fraud nearly two decades ago. He’s been fighting deportation ever since, and even appealed for a pardon from President Obama.

He was detained during a regular check-in earlier this month and flown to Miami for the beginning of his deportation proceedings, his wife, the immigration lawyer Amy Gottlieb, wrote for The New York Times. 

Forrest acknowledged that Ragbir’s efforts for staying his deportation were probably at an end. But. for her, the sudden removal crossed a line.

"But if due process means anything at all, it means that we must look at the totality of circumstances and determine whether we have dealt fairly when we are depriving a person of the most essential aspects of life, liberty, and family," Forrest wrote. "Here, any examination of these circumstances makes clear that the petitioner's personal interest, his interest in due process, required that we not pluck him out of his life without a moment's notice, remove him from his family and community without a moment's notice."

"Taking such a man, and there are many such men and women like him, and subjecting him to what is rightfully understood as no different or better than penal detention, is certainly cruel," she wrote. "We as a country need and must not act so. The Constitution commands better."

The judge acknowledged that ICE can deport Ragbir at any time. But there's no evidence that he needs to be locked up, or that he wouldn't leave on his own if ordered to, she said.

It's not certain Ragbir will be able to stay out of jail. An appellate court could put a hold on Forrest's order, meaning he could be detained while an appeal is argued.

But Ragbir's lawyers hope to prevent his deportation while they challenge his criminal conviction in court.
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Outspoken immigrant rights activist faces 'immediate' deportation

SCREEN CAPTURE

Immigration activist Ravi Ragbir

Before reporting to ICE, immigration rights advocate Ravi Ragbir said, "I am going to basically turn myself in and hope … that they will allow me to come back out." He lost that bet.

Ragbir, executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, was arrested in New York City Thursday, (Jan. 11) during a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and ordered immediately deported.

Hundreds of people – including several Indian Americans – gathered in front of the Jacob Javits Federal Building where Ragbir was detained. According to India-West, New York city councilmen – Ydanis Rodriguez and Jumaane Williams – were handcuffed and taken into custody, along with 16 others, while trying to prevent the ambulance transferring Ragbir to a hospital after feinting when he was arrested.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said it “got crazy” when ICE agents emerged from the building and claims he was shoved and that Rodriguez was put in a headlock.

“A peaceful gathering in support of immigrant rights activist turned needlessly violent at the hands of ICE agents and some members of the NYPD,” Johnson said. “The behavior I witnessed from ICE agents and select members of the NYPD was totally unacceptable.”

“Ravi Ragbir is an extraordinary man, beloved in his community and dedicated to fighting for immigrant rights. Today, after more than two decades of living in this country, he was detained by ICE and removed in an ambulance,” said Williams in a tweet confirming his arrest.

“This is not how you treat people who are protesting for human rights. This is not what democracy looks like. We can’t call ourselves progressives and pro-immigrants when the NYPD is doing chokehold to us,” said Rodriguez after his arrest.

Vivek Trivedi, Indian American communications director for South Asian Americans Leading Together, alleged to India-West that protestors were “dragged through the streets” by New York police. 

Ragbir, a Trinidad and Tobago native of Indian descent, arrived in the U.S. in 1991 on a visitor’s visa. In 1994, he became a lawful permanent resident.

In 2006, Ragbir was ordered by an immigration judge to be detained and deported, stemming from a 2001 conviction of wire fraud – an aggravated felony. He spent 22 months in immigration detention.

Ragbir was then granted a stay of deportation until 2018 by ICE officers who used prosecutorial discretion. He was mandated to periodically check in with ICE. 

Trivedi told India-West that after Ragbir was released from immigration detention in 2008, he was inspired by his experiences while incarcerated to speak out on prison reform and immigrant rights.

“Ravi has served as a leader in the immigrant community, creating channels for access to information and legal resources. He is an inspiring leader for the immigrants’ rights movement, one that we need now more than ever,” said Trivedi, noting that in 2017, Ragbir received SAALT’s “Changemakers” award, alongside Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations; law professor Jayesh Rathod; and Gurbani Kaur.

Ragbir is married to Amy Gottlieb, an immigration advocate for American Friends Service Committee. The couple lives with their daughter, Deborah, in Brooklyn.

Despite being eligible to adjust his status to that of permanent resident based on his marriage, the Board of Immigration Appeals recently denied Ravi’s request for an opportunity to be heard, according to a petition on change.org.

Previously, ICE officials had granted Ragbir prosecutorial discretion, including a stay of removal that was in effect until next week.

Known as a fixture in the immigrant rights movement, Ragbir was awarded the 2017 Immigrant Excellence Award by the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, given to those who show "deep commitment to the enhancement of their community."

ICE justified its decision and said he will remain in custody pending removal to Trinidad. 

"Over the last 12 years, Mr. Ragbir's immigration case has undergone extensive judicial review at multiple levels of the nation's judicial system, including both immigration courts and federal appeals courts," said Rachael Yong Yow, ICE public affairs officer. In each review, the courts have uniformly held that Ragbir does not have a legal basis to remain in the US, ICE said.

In an exercise of discretion, the agency had previously allowed him to remain free from custody with periodic check-ins, while his case was under court review, Rachael said. "He has since exhausted his petitions and appeals through the immigration courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the US District Court. He will remain in custody pending removal to Trinidad," she said.

"In addition to Mr. Ragbir's immigration violations, he has a previous federal conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, rendering him an aggravated felon. He was sentenced to 30 months incarceration, and ordered restitution in the amount of $350,001," said ICE spokesperson.
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