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STOP ERITREAN DEPORTATIONS NOW!

We – Americans of Eritrean descent – are calling for the U.S. government to save 700 of our fellow Eritreans who are here in America from imminent torture or death at the hands of the

We – Americans of Eritrean descent – are calling for the U.S. government to save 700 of our fellow Eritreans who are here in America from imminent torture or death at the hands of the brutal, dictatorial regime that rules Eritrea.

On September 13, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a directive to expedite the deportation of approximately 700 Eritreans from the U.S.  Those 700 – mostly law-abiding residents – appear to be at immediate risk of being sent home to Eritrea, where we believe they would face torture, long term imprisonment, or murder by the regime.

Eritrea:  The Police State

Eritrea is a small country in the Horn of Africa.  It is a police state, and it is widely referred to as “the North Korea of Africa.”  Its government’s merciless brutality toward its citizens has been documented and denounced by the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, and many major human rights organizations.  Citizens live in constant fear of surveillance, arbitrary arrest, torture, malnutrition, detention within a gulag of underground prisons, and indefinite military service under slave-like conditions.  Citizens who are deported from other countries are at particular peril.  We wish to voice our fears on behalf of the 700 in the U.S., and to implore the U.S. government to halt any deportations until Eritrea becomes safe for the individuals to return.

Why Deportation?

The 700 here are under final removal orders issued by American immigration courts.  To our knowledge, few are under those orders for having committed crimes here.  Rather, many or most had applied in good faith for asylum in the U.S., but they had simply lost their asylum claims.  Often they lost their cases because they lacked legal counsel, because the immigration judges did not understand the dire state of human rights in Eritrea, or both.

In recent years, few Eritreans have been deported from the U.S.  The reason appears to have been that the Eritrean government had refused to cooperate with the deportations – specifically, had  refused to issue travel documents to the individuals under final removal orders.  In the September 13 directive, DHS sought to remedy that situation by causing the State Department to issue a broad ban on in-bound visas from Eritrea to the U.S., as a means of pressuring the Eritrean regime to issue the travel documents for out-bound deportees.

Why Eritrea?

Eleven additional countries have also refused to issue travel papers for U.S. deportees.  But DHS chose to place visa restrictions on only four of them, including Eritrea, and to press for Eritrean deportations, apparently without considering the horrors that would likely befall those deported to Eritrea.  We do not object to the ban on in-bound visas.  But we fervently, and with broken hearts, object to Eritreans being deported to an excruciating fate.

We urge members of Congress to use all influence they may have to cause DHS and ICE to halt the deportation of Eritreans until that country is safe – especially Eritreans whose only shortcoming here is that their asylum claims were denied.

PLEASE HELP SAVE THE ERITREAN 700!

Click on this link for MEMBERS of CONGRESS

References

  1. DHS’s recent directive.

 

  1. DHS’s September 13, 2017 directive appears here: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/09/13/dhs-announces-implementation-visa-sanctions-four-countries .
  2. A summary of the directive by The New York Times appears here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/us/politics/visa-sanctions-criminal-convicts.html?_r=0 .
  3. An earlier warning by The Washington Post as to the consequences of potential Eritrean deportations appears here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/24/the-us-wants-to-deport-more-eritreans-heres-what-would-happen-to-them-if-they-were-forced-to-return/?utm_term=.11f2fc374e40  .

 

  1. Eritrean human rights, refugees and asylum claims, generally.

 

  1. The America Team for Displaced Eritreans. http://eritreanrefugees.org/ .
  2. Asylum claims and deportation consequences. http://eritreanrefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ERITREAN-ASYLUM-CLAIMS-SUMMARY-BY-THE-AMERICA-TEAM-FOR-DISPLACED-ERITREANS.pdf .

 

  1. Deportation means likely torture or execution.

 

The following sources have reported that Eritreans who are deported to Eritrea – after having been denied asylum in another country, or under some other circumstances – are likely to be severely punished by the Eritrean government:

 

  1. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/10/01/ERI104941.E%20.pdf
  2. Amnesty International: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/afr640012013.pdf , at pp. 30-31, 27
  3. Amnesty International: https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/eritrea-deserters-report.pdf , at pp. 9, 54, 57
  4. UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G15/114/50/PDF/G1511450.pdf?OpenElement , at pp. 7, 21.
  5. UK Upper Tribunal: http://reliefweb.int/report/united-kingdom-great-britain-and-northern-ireland/eritreans-face-real-danger-return and http://www.refworld.org/publisher,GBR_UTIAC,,ERI,57fc91fc4,0.html
  6. Meron Estefanos, quoted in EU Observer: https://euobserver.com/migration/137489
  7. Gerry Simpson, writing for Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/30/sudan-hundreds-deported-likely-abuse
  8. Abraham Zere, writing for Carnegie Council: https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/articles_papers_reports/987

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Review overview
33 COMMENTS
  • Tesfaldet Abraha October 19, 2017

    አሰና ምዓስ እዮም ዝሰድዎም ብጣዕሚ ጽቡቅ ጥዑም ወረ አስሚዕካና

    • Asmerom October 19, 2017

      Tesfaldet stupid man, do you think if these innocent Eritreans are deported back to Eritrea, your criminal mafia government would benefit by getting some payment from the Americans?
      The USA will not pay a penny to your criminal mafia gangsters when/if they deport the very unfortunate Eritreans. Your gangsters are actually bargaining and begging for some payments.

      • TesfaldetAbraha October 19, 2017

        You are stupid the USA is the one begging to Eritrea to take the criminals so it has to pay they bring them lieing

        • Asmerom October 20, 2017

          Mr stupid man, why do you think America the greatest/richest nation on earth would be begging the poorest/weakest Police state of Eritrea?? The Americans would only compromise on any payments when dealing with the strongest African nations like South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia and may be Algeria. Your PFDJ mafia gangsters know very well that if they are to refuse to USA’s demand or order then they will be bombed or eliminated over night.

          • almaz October 23, 2017

            Ha! — since when is Ethiopia listed as “the strongest nation” in what measure? population size? recipient of the highest aid? you pick one. only one.
            Do not forget Trump is dealing with the like-minded strong leader plus w/ a government built on the high moral ground and run by a principle. As to the returning of refuge, of course, America will pay for the airfare and resettlement of returnees at a minimum. The resettlement payment could be in the form of aid or grant to the individual (like the Israelis doing now to those shipped to Rwanda and/or Uganda– it could be totally in something else maybe political form. Keep yourself updated please do you know the Eritrean FM was at the state department recently? Got it.
            Love

  • TesfaldetAbraha October 19, 2017

    አሰና ከምዚ ዝአመሰለ ወረ አምጽአልና ግን ካልእ ዘሐጎስ ዘና ሪፖርት ዘይገበርካዮ ናይ በረኸት ስምኦንን አባዱላ ገመዳን ካብዚ ዝዕጥም ወረ እንታይ አሎ ጠጥዕሙ አስምዓና ናይ ወያነ

    • Tsehaye October 19, 2017

      Tesfom Hatella, please tell us your great satisfying news about Bereket Simon and Abadula Gemeda, let’s hear it from you so that we don’t have to wait from archive.assenna.com!!!!
      What is it that you’ve heard or read about the Weyane news that has excited you so much that you probably stopped eating food, drinking whiskey and may be stopped sleeping and breathing??

      • TesfaldetAbraha October 19, 2017

        ናይ በረኸት ስምኦን ድአ ናይ ወያነ ሞት የሪኤካ ኢሂ አይተሐጎስካን ወያነ ትዓርብ አላ እንታይ ኢኹም ትገብርዎ ናብይ ኢኹም ትአትውዎ

        • Asmerom October 20, 2017

          Bereket Simon as an Eritrean. if he is kicked out of Ethiopia then he would be coming to your Seraye to die but you will be dead before he arrives!

      • TesfaldetAbraha October 20, 2017

        Whay you ask me abaut weyane dont you see volcano evry one is diffecting one by one like mengstu the rest will diffect to ERITREA AbAY TSHAYE SPHATNEGA will run to ERITREA

    • alem October 23, 2017

      One can pretend and run but can not hide from truth. Bereket simon an eritrean tried to be more ethiopian than ethiopians. Now he has run away physically. Iseyas agame will do the same soon. When that happens tefit hatelamasien you will hear good news from assenna. Now focus on the topic for tommorow is your turn.

  • SenAfe October 20, 2017

    You get what you deserve in life and these would be deportee may deserve DIA and his Higdefs. Period. It is the poor imprisoned people back home that we have to worry about and help.

  • Danilo October 21, 2017

    What a talent show! Keep it up guys..

  • TesfaldetAbraha October 22, 2017

    አታ እንታይ ዝበለ ማዓት ረኺብኩም ቅድሚ 5 ወይ6ዓመት ኦባን ሱዛንራይስን ከለዉ አመሪካን ወያነን ምሳኹም ነረን ሕጂ ድአ እንታይ ኮይና አመሪካ ሐሶትኩም ነጺጋቶ እዞም ስደተኛታት ሰረቅትን ሐሰውትን ሙኻኖም ፈሊጣ ተባርሮም አላ 2017 ዓመተ ምህረት ዓመትኩም አይኮነትን እሞ ሕጂ ድአ አብ ዩኤን መን እዩ ክጣበቀልኩም

  • almaz October 23, 2017

    Ha! — since when is Ethiopia listed as “the strongest nation” in what measure? population size? recipient of the highest aid? you pick one. only one.
    Do not forget Trump is dealing with the like-minded strong leader plus w/ a government built on the high moral ground and run by a principle. As to the returning of refuge, of course, America will pay for the airfare and resettlement of returnees at a minimum. The resettlement payment could be in the form of aid or grant to the individual (like the Israelis doing now to those shipped to Rwanda and/or Uganda– it could be totally in something else maybe political form. Keep yourself updated please do you know the Eritrean FM was at the state department recently? Got it.
    Love
    Almaz

  • TesfaldetAbraha October 24, 2017

    OBAMA ኢደየት ክርናፍ እንዃዕ ከደ TRUMP ሱቡቅ አስሚዑና

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