Statements of Support and Solidarity
Image Text: LSPIRG stands with the authors of the Being Raced Report and those who issued the open letter
Support Being Raced: Research Study's open letter HERE
LSPIRG's Letter in Solidarity:
Dear Dr. Deborah MacLatchy, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Governors,
We would like to publicly state that LSPIRG unequivocally supports Black, Indigenous and racialized people within the Laurier community and beyond. We stand in solidarity with
the authors and researchers of the Being Raced Report and the lead researchers’ subsequent open letter.
We call on Wilfrid Laurier University, and others who have posted information about the Being Race Report without giving due credit, to correct their posts or make new ones. Giving credit is one of the simplest and easiest ways to amplify Black voices. To share the work that has been done without naming those responsible is continued erasure.
As an organization that supports student advocacy, equity and justice, we fully support the recommendations listed in the open letter and the Being Raced Report itself. The authors of the open letter demanded that these recommendations be acted on immediately, and we agree with this urgency. These changes cannot wait as they are directly impacting the lives and wellbeing of Black, Indigenous and racialized students right now.
The demands include, in the words of Paige Grant, Azka Choudhary and Joey Lee:
University-wide hiring of Black, Indigenous, and racialized people in the following positions: the Executive Leadership Team, the Deans offices, tenured faculty in all departments, nurses, counsellors, and medical doctors, administrative assistants, academic services and advising, librarians, & other WLU staff and faculty positions.
Implement anti-racist citation practices by naming Black, Indigenous, and racialized researchers, organizers, and community members in emails, social media posts, research, & both formal and informal verbal and written references.
Increase funding for the Centre for Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CSEDI), Indigenous Student Centres (ISC), & student groups that combat racism.
Eradication of the institutional treatment of anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion labour as free, underpaid, and/or precarious work.
Eradication of the repurposing and appropriation of Black, Indigenous, and racialized people’s research by administrators, faculty, and staff.
Increase funding to enact these demands.
Laurier often prides itself in being #1 in student satisfaction, but it is vital to recognize that this is not the case for Black, Indigenous, and racialized students. On multiple occasions now, a very clear and tangible list of recommendations has been presented, so it is not realistic for any department within the university to say that they do not know what is needed to create meaningful change at Laurier. It is the obligation of the university now to follow the guidance of racialized authors and researchers and take action.
In solidarity with the Black, Indigenous and racialized community at Laurier,
Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group
Image text: LSPIRG stands with the authors of the Being Raced Report and those who issued the open letter
#BeingRaced
Press Release: Community members deliver holiday card to Waterloo MP calling for permanent status for Roblero Morales family
Photo: Sandra Morales speaking at Dec. 19 action in front of MP Bardish Chagger’s office (Credit: Stacey Gomez)
Waterloo, ON - On December 19th, about 20 community members and local organizations gathered in front of the office of Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger, the recently named Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, in support of the Roblero-Morales family. They held paper hearts with messages like “Let them stay” and “Bring Daniel home,” enduring the cold winter afternoon.
They also delivered an oversized holiday card to Chagger, calling for support from her office to bring deported husband and father Daniel Roblero home for the holidays, as well as for the entire family, including wife and mother Sandra Morales and their six US-born children, to receive permanent residence immediately.
The family was set to be deported on February 6th, but at a December 18th meeting with Canada Border Services Agency, they were informed that they’d be able to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) and that their deportation would be stayed until a decision on that application. They were told that it took take 1-6 months to receive a response. The acceptance rate for PRRA applications has historically been extremely low.
“I’m still here struggling for the well-being of my family, making another call to the community, the ministers and MP Bardish Chagger. I would like more than anything for my husband to return. My children need him. He’s also a big support financially for our family. I would like for our case to be resolved as soon as possible. Our family remains separated and we need to be reunited for my children,” said said wife and mother Sandra Morales.
Photo: Community members in front of the office of MP Bardish Chagger for Dec. 19 action (Credit: Karly Rath)
"LSPIRG unapologetically supports peoples’ rights to safety and security. All families deserve respect and dignity, and should be able to stay together. The people of Waterloo Region will continue to support the Roblero-Morales family until they receive permanent residency and Daniel Roblero is allowed to return home," said Karly Rath of the Laurier Students' Public Interest Research Group.
“Climate justice is migrant justice. Canada claims to be a leader in climate action and human rights, but continues to support decades of violent exploitation by Canadian resource extraction companies abroad while punishing asylum-seekers at home. If this government is serious about climate action, it must stop the deportation of all people like the Roblero-Morales family and suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement,” said Sana Farooqui of Our Time Kitchener-Waterloo.
Parents Daniel and Sandra first fled to the US due to violence and persecution in Guatemala. When Trump was elected in 2017, they became fearful that their children would be taken away from them and they'd be deported as undocumented parents, so they decided to seek refuge in Canada. They are currently awaiting a response on their application for permanent residence on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds, following a negative decision on their refugee application.
No family separation and deportation! No immigrant detention for children or anyone!
- 30 -
Media contact:
Stacey Gomez
No one is illegal - Halifax
(902) 999-4458
Links:
Waterloo family facing deportation date holding out hope
Guatemalan family faces tough choice as deportation looms in the new year
Open letter presented to federal government for Waterloo family facing deportation to Guatemala
Waterloo family face deportation after the holidays
Press release: Groups throughout Canada express solidarity with Waterloo family facing deportation
Press release: Waterloo Family Separated and Facing Deportation
Go Fund Me Campaign - Roblero Family Facing Deportation to Guatemala
Una familia latinoamericana bien integrada en Canadá amenazada de expulsión
STATEMENT RE: Waterloo Family Deportation November 19th 2019
LSPIRG is calling on our communities and networks to stand in solidarity with a family from Waterloo, Ontario who is currently facing deportation to Guatemala. The family includes parents Daniel Roblero and Sandra Morales, as well as their six children (all born in the US). Daniel was deported on Nov. 2nd while the rest of the family is working to stay in Waterloo. Their asylum claim was denied on November 23rd, 2018, and they have been unable to appeal the decision due to Canada’s immigration laws. Currently, the family is awaiting a decision on their application for permanent residence on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds.
It is also important to note that three of the family’s children are experiencing serious health issues. While they are able to access the needed health care in a cost-effective way in Waterloo, it is doubtful that this would be the case in Guatemala. The deportation of this family would not only remove them from their home and community, but it would risk the loss of access to much needed care.
As an organization, LSPIRG unapologetically supports peoples’ rights to safety, security and to keep their families together. We are calling on our networks and the media to put pressure on the Trudeau government to halt this deportation process and grant the family temporary residency status so they can stay until their H&C application is considered.
Every individual and family deserves dignity and respect, which is why we believe it is so important to draw awareness to (and stand in solidarity with) the Morales/Roblero family. It is undeniable that we are in scary times. With the state of immigration detention, ICE raids, denied applications, and drastically increasing numbers of folks who are seeking safety (often from violence fueled by North American governments). It’s also undeniable that it takes more than a solidarity statement or news article to change how this violence is impacting the safety and lives of so many folks. It’s important that we put pressure on the government to halt the deportation process and to continue advocating for the Morales/Roblero family to receive permanent residency and to allow for Daniel Roblero to return home.
In solidarity,
The LSPIRG Team
Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group
Today, August 10th 2019, marks the 45th year that folks have globally resisted the violent and oppressive prison system by honouring Prisoners’ Justice Day. We’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous People of Colour) folks are disproportionately impacted by the justice system and face higher rates of incarceration and police violence. This comes as no surprise since prison systems were created to uphold white supremacy and colonization and continue to do so today.
Violence from police and the prison system is often painted as an American problem, but the routine incarceration and criminalization of queer, trans and racialized folks is all too common in so-called “Canada” as well. Recently, in Hamilton, queer and trans folks were arrested for defending pride from far-right protesters. Justice for Inmates (a group of folks calling for justice for family members who have passed away in prison) walked from London, Ontario to Queen’s Park in May to protest a string of recent deaths. Toronto South Detention Centre is disconnecting families even more by making visitations digital (via video call) and organizations such as JPAY (an online method of writing letters to folks in prison) continues to increase its prices. Trans folks are consistently kept in solitary confinement, Indigenous folks across Turtle Island are faced with jail time when protecting their traditional territories, and Black folks are persistently met with higher rates of carding, police brutality, and incarceration.
We are also in scary times with the state of immigration detention and ICE raids. Border camps and detention centres are packed well beyond capacity with folks simply seeking safety (often from violence fueled by North American governments) and are kept in horrendous conditions that have resulted in the deaths of dozens of youth and adults--Some only mere days after being brought to the detention centers. Just a few days ago, ICE carried out the largest raids in its (relatively short) history - stealing 680 people from their homes and places of employment.
All of these forms of state violence must end, and we all play a role in making that happen.
We at LSPIRG encourage you to get informed and take action!
Movies:Visions of Abolition From Critical Resistance to a New Way of Life, 13th (documentary on Netflix)
Events:Prisoner Justice Day, Rally and March in Hamilton, Tattoo Fundraiser for the Barton Prisoner Solidarity Project, Prisoner Justice Day in Toronto, Whorestories: #FreeMoka Edition
Books:Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis, Freedom is a constant struggle by Angela Davis, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colourblindness by Michelle Alexander, Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex by Nat Smith, Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard
Organizations: Prisoner Correspondence Project (linking up queer and trans folks outside of prison with those inside to be pen pals), Community Justice Initiatives
Statement RE: Indigenous Peoples Day 2019
Statement re: Islamophobic Shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand
Solidarity with Unist’ot’en
LSPIRG recognizes that our community work must support larger movements, as systemic oppression is widespread and affects people across the globe, including our local communities. It is vital that communities on the front lines know we stand in solidarity, as seeking justice takes us all. Recently, we have taken a collective pledge in support of Unist'ot'en, as there is no place for colonial violence anywhere on Turtle Island!
Read and join the collective pledge here!
Photo credit: Unist’ot’en Camp
