Minneapolis, MN – On Dec. 19, MIRAc’s No More Deportations campaign and Occupy Homes MN joined together to protest deportations and evictions in Hennepin County. They demanded that Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek stop evicting people from their homes and stop cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport immigrants from the county jail.

The protest started outside the Hennepin County jail, where immigrants are routinely turned over to ICE for deportation, even if they have not been convicted of any crime. Outside the jail, a street theater skit began in which “Mr. Rich” (Mr. Grinch) came to steal the holidays by deporting and evicting as many people as possible in the interests of the 1%. The group then marched to City Hall, went inside the building and marched to Sheriff Stanek’s office door.

The street theater continued there, where Mr. Rich was confronted by three “ghosts of evictions and deportations past,” who spoke about their experiences with eviction and deportation in Hennepin County. The protesters also set up a full-size Christmas tree directly outside the Sheriff’s office, decorated with ornaments with anti-deportation and anti-eviction messages.

“Sheriff Stanek used our tax dollars to violently and illegally raid my home on Election Day, breaking down my door and forcing my daughter to walk barefoot across broken glass,” said Jaymie Kelly, who remains in her home and is currently fighting her eviction with Occupy Homes MN. “We should not be using tax dollars to violently separate families and force them into the streets. It’s time for Scrooge Stanek to change his ways. Not one more eviction or deportation!”

According to Brad Sigal of the No More Deportations campaign, “Sheriff Stanek holds immigrants in the county jail for ICE to come deport them. He doesn’t have to do that. This holiday season, we demand that he stop using the jail as a deportation machine. Everyone should be able to stay in their home with their families for the holidays.”

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #MIRAc #NoMoreDeportationsCampaign #OccupyHomesMN

$4 billion of the settlement will go to consumer relief, but it's still not clear where that money would go. $3.3 billion was earmarked for foreclosed homeowners as part of the Independent Foreclosure Review Settlement, which resulted in most homeowners, many of whom had lost their homes, receiving checks of $300 to $500.

“The first priority of the settlement should be to keep people in their homes,” said Jaymie Kelly, who has lived in her south Minneapolis home for 30 years and is now facing imminent eviction by JPMorgan Chase and Freddie Mac. “JPMorgan Chase refused to work with me after I fell behind on a predatory loan, even though I had paid for my home five times over. Now they want to evict me from my home of 30 years. I am not interested in a settlement check. I want a negotiation with principal reduction to stay in my home.”

Kelly, who bought her home in 1983 for $74,900, has paid $425,000 for it over the years. When Chase foreclosed on her, they claimed she still owed $255,000. Instead of modifying her loan, they sold her home to Freddie Mac, which is aggressively pushing to evict.

Kelly is fighting an eviction defense campaign with Occupy Homes MN. On Oct. 8, 150 community members blockaded the sheriff's attempt to evict her. JPMorgan Chase and Freddie Mac have filed for another eviction order to remove Kelly from her home, but Kelly is not going anywhere.

“No settlement check could make up for the trauma of being forced out of my home of 30 years,” said Kelly. “If this settlement doesn't keep me in my home, my community will. I am not leaving.”

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #JPMorganChase #HomeForeclosures #OccupyHomesMN #HouseStruggles #JaymieKelly

Kelly, who has paid the value of her home five times over, was scheduled to be evicted by Freddie Mac and the Hennepin County sheriff's department at 10:30 this morning, on her daughter Sinead's 23rd birthday, but a rapid community response forced the sheriffs' deputies to reschedule.

“The government is shut down, but Freddie Mac evictions are still considered an essential service. But the power of community is too big to fail,” said Kelly. “Today's blocked eviction is the greatest birthday present I could give my daughter. I am not moving, and my neighbors stand with me.”

Freddie Mac, which operates under the federal agency FHFA, is continuing its evictions of Kelly and others in spite of the government shutdown.

“Sheriff Stanek and the big banks don't want to do their dirty work in front of 150 community members,” said Nick Espinosa, an organizer with Occupy Homes MN whose family successfully fought off foreclosure last year. “But we will be ready for them at any hour of the day or night. Jaymie's not going anywhere, and neither are we.”

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #Evictions #governmentShutdown #HomeForeclosures #OccupyHomesMN #HouseStruggles #JaymieKelly #FreddieMac

Minneapolis, MN – About 30 people assembled outside the Hennepin County Government Center here, August 1, to stand in solidarity with Occupy Homes’ Nick Espinosa and to demand all charges against community members involved in defending the Cruz family home be dropped. Nick Espinosa has been charged with riot in the third degree, along with other Occupy Homes activists. The charge is baseless.

Espinosa told the crowd that trumped-up charges against anti-foreclosure activists were an attempt at intimidation on the part of city officials. He also denounced the coordinated repression that is being directed against the Occupy movement.

Also speaking was Deb Konechne, who is active in the Occupy movement and the Welfare Rights Committee. She said that it was important to defeat the repression that was being aimed at the Occupy movement, all people engaged in civil disobedience, and the anti-war activists who were raided by the FBI.

After the gathering, people went upstairs to pack the courtroom for Nick Espinosa’s pre-trial hearing.

#MinneapolisMN #HousingStruggles #HomeForeclosures #InjusticeSystem #OccupyHomesMN #NickEspinosa

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people rallied inside City Hall here, July 24 to demand all charges be dropped against members and supporters of Occupy Homes who were arrested defending the Cruz family home. In recent weeks, city prosecutors added the charge of third degree riot – a gross misdemeanor which carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $3000 fine – to the original trespassing charge. The 14 were arrested May 30 in a peaceful protest at the Cruz family home.

Speaking in City Hall, Rachel Lang of the National Lawyers Guild announced the start of a campaign to press city officials to drop the charges. Other speakers included hip-hop artist Brother Ali, Michael Friedman of the Legal Rights Center and Dave Bicking, formerly of the Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority.

The decision of city officials to escalate the charges against anti-foreclosure protesters is an attempt to attempt to intimidate activists. The protests organized by Occupy Homes have garnered international media coverage and has been successful in saving the homes of those hit by foreclosures.

Other demands put forward at the protest were that, “All police, including Chief Dolan, who used violence against peaceful protesters be formally disciplined,” and that “no more public resources be used to help banks evict our neighbors.”

#MinneapolisMN #InJusticeSystem #HousingStruggles #Foreclosure #Eviction #politicalRepression #OccupyHomesMN

Minneapolis, MN – The Minneapolis City Attorney is ramping up repression to try to stop the months-long campaign to resist the foreclosure of Alejandra and David Cruz’s family home at 4044 Cedar Avenue South. In an ominous development, at least three of the dozens of people arrested in defending the home from foreclosure are now being retroactively charged with third degree riot, obstructing legal process, disorderly conduct and presence at an unlawful assembly, in addition to their original trespass charge. The third degree riot charge alone could mean a year in jail and $3000 fine.

The protest where these specific arrests took place was on May 30 during one of the Minneapolis Police Department’s several attempts to clear out occupiers and evict the Cruz family on behalf of PNC Bank, which owns the home mortgage. That massive police operation and arrests took place less than 24 hours after Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak had tried to appear sympathetic to the anti-foreclosure movement by saying, “the City is not in the foreclosure business.”

For several months, Occupy Homes MN has mobilized hundreds of people to occupy and defend the Cruz home while building pressure nationally on PNC Bank, demanding that they negotiate to allow the Cruz family to keep their home. The Minneapolis police repeatedly returned to the home to try to dislodge the occupiers and were repeatedly rebuffed through mass civil disobedience. After the police finally succeeded in ejecting the occupiers and locking down the home, there was a mass civil disobedience action on June 21, where 13 more people were arrested, including hip hop artist Brother Ali.

According to a statement from Occupy Homes MN, “These charges are a clear and disgraceful attempt to suppress the Occupy Homes movement and ‘make an example’ of anti-foreclosure organizers who were arrested while non-violently protesting an unjust eviction. City Attorney Susan Segal, appointed by Mayor RT Rybak, has also made it a point to aggressively prosecute other political defendants, including a group arrested while protesting US Bank’s foreclosure practices last fall … This attempt to silence and stifle anti-foreclosure organizing will not deter us from fighting for our homes, our families, our neighbors, and our futures.”

Donations for legal defense of the people arrested defending the Cruz home can be made here: https://www.wepay.com/occupyhomesmn More information on the fight to defend the Cruz home:

#MinneapolisMN #Foreclosures #HousingStruggles #OccupyWallStreet #InjusticeSystem #OccupyHomesMN