For Immediate Release
April 29, 2015
Contact: SG Sarmiento, sgsarmiento@ndlon.org

“Without Justice, There is No Rule of Law”: Immigrant Groups Join Call for Justice in Baltimore

Washington, DC—In response to the Baltimore Police’s killing of Freddie Gray, a young black man in police custody, and widespread outrage by communities in Baltimore and across the country, members of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) released the following statements of solidarity:

Carlos Castillo, President, Trabajadores Unidos (Washington, DC):

“Yesterday, Freddie Gray was buried, but the police that killed him are free. This doesn’t seem to me like rule of law. Without justice, there is no rule of law. This is why people are in the streets. It doesn’t matter if you are in Guerrero or Guatemala, Missouri or Maryland, state-violence that escapes justice is impunity. What we need today in Baltimore and beyond is justice.”

Claudia Bautista, ICE Out Of LA Organizer with NDLON (California):

“This is another manifestation of the inhumanity that fails to see black and brown bodies as worthy of life and livelihood. These are not isolated incidents; there is a crisis at the hands of law enforcement in this country. The police are a tool of the state, so it is the obligation of the mayor, the governor, the President, to hold them accountable. We proudly stand with our African-American sister communities rising up in Baltimore. And we join our immigrant sister organizations, like Casa de Maryland, in demanding accountability.”

Edgar Aranda-Yanoc, Organizing Coordinator, VA Legal Aid Justice Center & President VACOLAO (Virginia):

“The immigrant Latino community, which is well-aware of the crisis of impunity that exists for civil rights violations committed by police, must stand in solidarity with African-American families and communities that are shouting: no more. Today, our thoughts are with the family of Freddie Gray and the families of so many that we have lost to this national crisis.”

Jose Lenin, Organizer, on behalf of Houston Fe y Justicia (Texas):

“We feel the pain of police abuse occurring across the country, the brutality and unmeasured force used by police against minorities. We feel for Freddie Gray’s family and the Baltimore community who are the new victims of this systemic abuse against African-American communities. The community in Houston is with Baltimore. We must stand opposed to the use of police in oppressing communities of color and minorities. Black lives matter. Brown lives matter. We deserve equality before the law and respect from the police. The police do not have the right to take the life of another human being. Long live our right to denounce abuse and the freedom to demand our rights. Long live the struggle.”

Yazmin Contreras, Organizer, Adelante Workers Center (Alabama):

“For our immigrant rights movement, civil disobedience that confronted the injustice of deportation head-on was a key tactic to expose the contradiction of a Democratic deporter-in-chief. Today, in the streets of Baltimore, communities have sent a clear message: if the government will not take action against police killings, we will.”

Romeo Sosa, Executive Director, Portland La Voz (Oregon):

“We stand with the men and women rising up in the streets of Baltimore. After decades of abuse, communities have the right to express outrage. It is unacceptable that people of color are afraid of the police. We, too, are outraged by the killing of yet another young man of color and call on authorities to act immediately to ensure that this is the last in the long list of young men of color killed at the hands of law enforcement.”

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