THU 7/15 Hearing in Philly: Urge Release of Palestinian Salim Y.

From: Clinicteresa@aol.com
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 16:35:40 EDT

What: Pack the Court!!!

When: Thursday July 15th, 2004, at 10:00am

Where: Third Circuit Court of Appeals, 601 Market Street, 19th Floor
(corner of Market and 6th Streets) Albert Branson Maris Courtroom located in Philadelphia, PA.

Why: As a show of support for indefinite detainee Salim Y. who has been held in the Elizabeth Detention Center for 4 years.

Let the government know that you oppose the indefinite detention and poor treatment of arriving aliens.

Summary of the Case:

Salim Y. is a native of Gaza City in the occupied territories. He came to the U.S. as a stowaway on a ship in August of 2000 seeking asylum. His asylum claim was denied (in large part due to the fact that he represented himself without a lawyer) and he was ordered deported. However, due to the fact that the U.S. does not have a repatriation agreement with Israel for Palestinians, the U.S. has been unable to deport him.

Salim has remained in detention at the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, NJ since his arrival in August of 2000. Salim does not have a criminal history and has maintained an impeccable record of behavior while in detention. In fact, the U.S. concedes that he does not present a danger to the community. Moreover, both the Christ House in the Bronx (a home for refugees) and an individual from First Friends of Riverside Church have offered to provide Salim with housing and job training if released. Despite this fact, the government asserts the authority to detain him until they are able to deport him, even if that means holding him in jail for life.

While in detention, Salim has suffered innumerable violations of his basic human rights. He has been held in solitary confinement on multiple occasions, harassed, constantly searched and frisked, and denied access to reading materials. Because the detention center does not have outdoor facilities, Salim has not seen the light of day in the four years he has been detained.

Salim is represented by Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
and Joshua Bardavid, a private attorney. We currently have an appeal pending in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals challenging his continued detention. Oral arguments are scheduled for Thursday, July 15 at 10:00am in the Albert Branson Maris Courtroom located at 601 Market Street, 19th Floor (corner of Market and 6th Streets) in Philadelphia, PA. We invite you to attend the hearing as a show of support and in solidarity with Salim. We hope to pack the courtroom with supporters as part of our multi-faith protest led by the Gamaliel Foundation to draw attention to the U.S. government's use of indefinite detention of immigrants in general and the indefinite detention of Salim specifically. [NOTE: Salim will not be attending the hearing.]

Letters to Salim Y. can be mailed directly to him at the Elizabeth Detention Center, 625 Evans Street Elizabeth, NJ 07201. Please include his Alien Identification Number A78 820 978 to make sure your letter gets to him.

If there is any further assistance that your organization can provide or if you have any questions, please contact myself or Teresa Woods at the numbers provided below. Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Joshua Bardavid

Contact Info:

Teresa Woods
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
976 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 733-3516 ext. 208
clinicteresa@aol.com

Joshua Bardavid
The Law Office of Theodore N. Cox
401 Broadway, Suite 701
New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-1208
JEB7006@aol.com

***

SAMPLE LETTER:

John Tsoukaris
United States Department of Homeland Security
US-ICE Headquarters Post-Order Detention Unit
801 I Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20536
Fax # 202-353-9435

RE: YASSIR, Salim, A78 820 978

Dear Mr. Tsoukaris:

I am writing on behalf of Mr. Salim Yassir who has been detained for four years at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. I strongly believe that Mr. Yassir should be released immediately from the detention center, into the care and supervision of his sponsors.

Mr. Yassir has been awaiting deportation since his arrival in the United States in 2000, yet there is no possibility of removal since both Israel and the PLO have confirmed in writing that, pursuant to the Oslo Accords, Mr. Yassir is ineligible for repatriation into the territories or Israel proper.

Mr. Yassir is a non-criminal, non-violent detainee who has maintained an impeccable record of behavior while in detention. He has also provided the government with two sponsors who will provide him with housing, job training/assistance, and food. In addition, these sponsors have stated that they will take responsibility to ensure that Mr. Yassir obeys any terms of supervised release.

Mr. Yassir's continued detention costs taxpayers $155.00 per day, as estimated by the government. His detention is a waste of taxpayer money, particularly since Mr. Yassir presents no danger to society and has provided suitable alternatives to detention, through his sponsors.

Finally, Mr. Yassir has been detained for four years in a facility that was intended for short-term detentions. There are no outdoor areas, so Mr. Yassir has not seen the light of day since 2000.

Please release Mr. Salim Yassir from the Elizabeth Detention Center.

Sincerely,