St. Paul, MN – More than 30 people rallied outside the Whipple Federal Building and packed the immigration court hearing today, July 10, for Ariel Vences-Lopez. They were there to oppose his deportation and support his efforts to be released from immigration detention. Vences-Lopez was the subject of a viral video showing him being improperly questioned about his immigration status during light rail transit fare check.

Outside of the federal building, before and during the hearing, members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) and others held banners and signs reading “No more deportations.” They talked about the importance of supporting Ariel Vences-Lopez and about how his case is not an isolated incident, but just one example of the unjust immigration system that is deporting people and separating families every day.

At the hearing, the judge did not make a decision on setting Vences-Lopez’s bond, setting the next hearing for July 13 at 9 a.m. If the judge sets bond, then Vences-Lopez can get out of immigration detention while pursuing his efforts to avoid deportation and stay in the U.S.

Vences Lopez was riding the Blue Line light rail train in Minneapolis on May 14 and gained national attention after a video posted to Facebook went viral. In the video, Metro Transit police officer Andy Lamers can be seen asking Vences-Lopez, “Are you here illegally?” during what appears to be a routine fare check.

Minneapolis is supposed to be a ‘sanctuary city’ where police do not ask people about immigration status. Metro Transit, which has its own police force, claims to not ask about immigration status either, despite the viral video showing Lamers doing exactly that. In that incident, Vences-Lopez was tased three times, arrested, and then handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after he was booked into Hennepin County Jail.

After Vences-Lopez’s hearing ended, Bruce Nestor, one of the lawyers on Ariel Vences-Lopez’s legal team, addressed supporters outside to explain what happened in the hearing. Nestor said, “The judge today would not take up the issue of bond separate from trying to determine what relief he might be eligible for before the immigration judge...the long and the short of it is that we’re going to come back on Thursday for a continued bond hearing and a continued master calendar hearing.”

Members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) then announced another rally to support Vences-Lopez outside the Whipple Federal Building at 8:30 a.m. this Thursday, July 13.

#SaintPaulMN #MIRAc #ArielVencesLopez

Minneapolis, MN – On June 23, the charges against Ariel Vences Lopez of ‘fare evasion,’ ‘obstruction of process’ and ‘providing a false name to police’ were dropped. This legal victory is one step in the campaign that immigrant rights and anti-police brutality activists are waging to stop the deportation of Vences Lopez and stop police harassment and brutality on Twin Cities public transit.

Vences Lopez was riding the blue line light rail train in Minneapolis on May 14 and gained national attention after a video posted to Facebook went viral. In the video, Metro Transit police officer Andy Lamers can be seen asking Vences-Lopez, “Are you here illegally?” during what appears to be a routine fare check. Minneapolis is supposed to be a ‘sanctuary city’ where police do not ask people about immigration status. Metro Transit, which has its own police force, claims to not ask about immigration status either, despite the viral video showing Lamers doing exactly that.

After protesting at the Met Council and pressing authorities about what happened, it became clear that after the video snippet showing officer Lamers questioning Vences-Lopez ended, he was then removed from the train, tased and then arrested. The charges from that arrest are the charges that were dropped today.

When Vences-Lopez was in custody at the Hennepin County Jail for these charges, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put a hold on him, after which he was transferred to ICE for deportation. He is still held by ICE pending deportation, with activists and lawyers working to stop his deportation. Getting the charges against Vences Lopez dropped is one step in that process.

#MinneapolisMN #MetropolitanCouncil #ArielVencesLopez

New Hope, MN – Protesters packed the June 12 city council work session in New Hope, a suburb of Minneapolis, to demand that the city fire police officer Andy Lamers. Until recently, in addition to his job in New Hope, Lamers also had a part-time job as a police officer with Metro Transit, which operates public transit in the Twin Cities area.

However, Lamers was forced to resign from Metro Transit Police when a video of him surfaced in which he questioned a light rail passenger about his immigration status asking, “Are you here illegally?” The action in New Hope, called for by Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), asserted Lamers’ resignation from Metro Transit Police was not enough, that officers who blatantly racially profile people shouldn’t be police officers anywhere.

The incident prompting the protest occurred on May 14 and gained national attention after a video posted to Facebook went viral. In the video, officer Lamers can be seen asking a light rail passenger, later identified as Ariel Vences-Lopez, “Are you here illegally?” during what appears to be a routine fare check.

After protesters spoke out forcefully at the May 24 Met Council meeting and forced the authorities to come clean with the whole story, it became clear that after the video snippet showing officer Lamers questioning Vences-Lopez ended, he was then removed from the train, tased and arrested under suspicion of committing fare evasion and obstructing an officer. When Vences-Lopez was in custody at the Hennepin County Jail, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put a hold on him, after which he was transferred to ICE for deportation. Since finding out ICE had Vences-Lopez, immigrant rights activists and lawyers have scrambled to try to stop his deportation while also campaigning to end Metro Transit police’s relationship with immigration enforcement and holding the officer in question accountable.

Organizers next plan to attend and speak at the June 14 meeting of the Metropolitan Council. The speak-out, called by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) will demand that Metro Transit police officers stop carrying out immigration enforcement on trains and buses, and that they stop cooperation with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security on trains and buses.

#NewHopeMN #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #Minnesota #Antiracism #ArielVencesLopez