Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from New Orleans Immigrant Rights Action.

New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Immigrant Rights Action (NOIRA) condemns the subpoenas issued by Attorney General Jeff Landry against three Louisiana immigration nonprofits. We demand that Landry cease his participation in Republican anti-immigrant lawsuits and that these repressive subpoenas be dropped.

Landry ® demanded confidential documents from Home is Here NOLA, Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy (ISLA), and Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention (LA-AID). This information would reveal the identities of the undocumented people that these organizations serve, putting asylum seekers at risk of retaliation from the government. The information sought from ISLA is protected by attorney-client privilege. Further, LA-AID is a faith-based organization, making this move a violation of religious liberty.

Landry calculated this abuse of power to intimidate the movement for immigrant rights in Louisiana and gather further right-wing support for his race for governor. These subpoenas are also part of a national right-wing lawsuit aimed at repressing asylum seekers fleeing dangerous conditions in their home countries. Seeking asylum is protected by international law, but racist Republican politicians are attempting to undermine this fundamental right using this lawsuit.

Immigrant labor is exploited by the wealthy, including by Landry himself at his own companies. Immigrants in Louisiana work the most dangerous and difficult jobs for low wages and rebuild our communities after hurricanes. Still, immigrants face repression and endure a second-class status in their communities. Justice for immigrants should become a priority in Louisiana. That starts with honoring asylum seekers, funding immigrant community needs and taking concrete steps toward legalization for all immigrants.

Hands off asylum seekers! Hands off the movement for immigrant rights!

#NewOrleansLA #immigrantRights