Ramya Krishnan is Staff Attorney at The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. On Thursday, October 25, 2018, the New Sanctuary Coalition and NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic held a teach-in about the First Amendment rights of immigrants who speak out against the injustices and inhumanity of our immigration system. Hosted at a Brooklyn church founded as a “temple of abolition” against slavery, the teach-in was held in anticipation of an upcoming First Amendment case, Ragbir v. Homan, that was heard in the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday, October 29. The plaintiffs of Ragbir v. Homan seek, among other things, a court order restraining the government from deporting and otherwise targeting immigrant activists based on their protected political speech. Thursday’s teach-in unpacked immigrants’ constitutional right to free speech, even as the government lashes out against immigrant rights leaders and activists. Ragbir v. Homan was filed by nationally recognized immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, along with immigrant rights organizations New Sanctuary Coalition, CASA, Detention Watch Network, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the New York Immigration Coalition (the “plaintiffs”).

Ramya Krishnan at First Amendment Teach In

The U.S. has a long history of detaining and incarcerating communities of color under the auspice of protecting its national security. Today, on Korematsu Day, we honor and celebrate the legacy of those who stood up against the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. On this episode, we speak with Linda Morris, an ACLU fellow and a descendant of Japanese American prisoners incarcerated in U.S. camps during WWII, who is engaging her own family history to stand in solidarity with immigrants currently detained by ICE.

Looking for more? Follow us: @ACLU and @EmersonSJSykes on Twitter.

Ramya Krishnan at First Amendment Teach In

I Stand With Ravi

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