Arrest of Pakistani woman immigrant activist protested

Immigrant rights and women’s rights supporters from New York’s May 1 Coalition gathered outside of the Federal Immigration Court in New York in the early morning drizzle Dec. 13 to support Pakistani women’s rights activist Baza Roohi at her bail hearing.

May 1 Coalition protests arrest of Baza Roohi at the federal immigration court in New York . WW photo

At the hearing, Judge Alan Payne, who has refused five out of every six requests for asylum, set bail at $35,000, which must be put up in cash. This is considered punitive bail.

Immigration authorities arrested Roohi, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 15. She has a “green card,” but was jailed on a technical visa violation, and held in a detention center in New Jersey.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of Pakistani women and men have been rounded up and deported by U.S. immigration authorities. Roohi organized support for their bereft partners and parents. That, said Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum (PakUSAFF) President Mohammed Shaffiq, is why the immigration authorities arrested her. She dared to organize.

Her case, said PakUSAFF organizer Comrade Shahid, “represents thousands of immigrants facing the tyranny of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Custom Enforcement policies.” He added that her case would be the first in a campaign to begin Jan. 1, 2007, which will demand that the new Congress pass laws to grant legal recognition to all immigrants.

Vicente Alba of the May 1 Coalition, expressing his solidarity with Roohi, said, “This could be the start of a national campaign to stop this racist campaign that is terrorizing immigrant communities.”