Sign the petition: Eduardo Samaniego

Eduardo is a well-known and much-loved leader and human rights advocate with deep ties to his community in Georgia and Massachusetts. Add your name.

Dear MoveOn member,

Eduardo is a well-known and much-loved leader and human rights advocate with deep ties to his community in Georgia and Massachusetts. But like many immigrant activists nationally, Eduardo is being targeted by ICE, and his case is now being fast-tracked as a direct result of his work to defend immigrant rights.^1,2

Eduardo's next immigration hearing is on Thursday. Will you sign the petition to ICE officials and demand Eduardo's immediate release?

Please release Eduardo Samaniego immediately. Eduardo Samaniego is an outstanding community activist and human rights leader. Eduardo's health is precarious and he should be free to pursue legal remedies at home, where thousands have already shown their support for him.

What started as a dispute with a cab driver over $27.75 (since dismissed) has become a national case lifting up the horrors of the human rights abuses being carried out by the U.S. government.³

On December 27, 2018, after 71 days behind bars, Eduardo was denied bond at a hearing where he publicly declared he was suffering physical abuse in detention. Eduardo was moved the following day to Irwin County Detention Facility in Ocilla, Georgia—widely recognized as one of the most oppressive detention centers in the nation.⁴

Click here to sign this petition, and then pass it along to your friends, so we can increase the pressure to get Eduardo released!

Eduardo was immediately put on suicide watch, where he remains in complete isolation—in a completely empty room, without clothing other than a paper gown, eating only with his hands, and under 24-hour observation. Treatment like this is internationally recognized as a violation of human rights and as a form of torture. Eduardo's physical and mental health is rapidly deteriorating.

Eduardo's health is precarious. Two years ago, while visiting Georgia, Eduardo was the victim of a near-fatal gas explosion in the apartment building where he was staying. He sustained burns on 45% of his body and was hospitalized for three months to heal from physical damage. As a result of this traumatic incident, Eduardo still suffers both physically and mentally. Where he is being held, he is not able to receive proper medication or care, and he lives in near-total isolation, as visits with friends and loved ones are highly restricted. Eduardo must be released from detention to ensure his health and his survival.

With the support of sympathetic lawmakers such as Rep. Jim McGovern, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Markey, if enough of us raise our voices, ICE will have no choice but to #FreeEduardo. 

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Caroline Murray

Sources: 

1. "ICE has detained or deported prominent immigration activists," The Washington Post, January 19, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/61983?t=11&akid=224676%2E10220574%2EZ4UGKJ

2. "Immigration activist's future at risk over $27 Georgia cab fare," WXIA, December 31, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/61984?t=13&akid=224676%2E10220574%2EZ4UGKJ

3. Ibid.

4. "Massachusetts immigration activist Eduardo Samaniego denied release on bond from ICE detention," The Republican, December 28, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/62002?t=17&akid=224676%2E10220574%2EZ4UGKJ

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