Drop the charges! New Orleans weekly anti-ICE action rallies in defense of Alejandro Orellana
New Orleans, LA – On June 27 at noon, a crowd rallied against FBI repression in front of the New Orleans Immigration Court. Local activists called the rally in coordination with a National Day of Action for Alejandro Orellana, an immigrant rights activist in East LA. Orellana is facing federal charges for protesting recent ICE raids in Los Angeles.
“El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!” chanted activist Toni Jones. “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. If we don’t stand with Alejandro against these bogus charges then who will stand up for us?”
Jones is the chair of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, a local affiliate of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). NAARPR, alongside Legalization for All and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, called for solidarity actions across the country.
The crowd also called for an end to the ICE raids and deportations, chanting “Ni una mas deportación” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
“Alejandro did nothing wrong! It is right to rebel against these ICE and FBI thugs,” said student activist Carson Cruse. “[Alejandro and I] belong to the same union, the Teamsters, and I hope to become a union steward just like Alejandro.”
The crowd called for all the charges against Orellana to be dropped. During the demonstration, the protesters called U.S. Attorney Essayli’s office on speaker phone and addressed the answering machine in unison saying, “We want the charges against Alejandro Orellana dropped!”
The FBI raided Orellana ’s home on June 12 and charged him with conspiracy to commit civil disorder and aiding and abetting civil disorder.
At the end of the rally, speakers encouraged everyone to call the U.S. Attorney’s office directly and to continue the weekly rallies at the immigration court.