Justice For Lucia Vega Jimenez: Press conference and Vigil

 

NO MORE MIGRANT DEATHS: JUSTICE FOR LUCIA

Join us at the following:
 
Press Conference and Delegation
Monday September 29th at 8:30 am
Burnaby Coroners Court, MetroTower II, 4720 Kingsway


Rally and Vigil
Tuesday September 30th at 6:30 pm
CIC offices, 300 West Georgia, near VPL.

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A BC Coroners inquest into the tragic and shameful death of Lucia Vega Jimenez is beginning on Monday September 29th and continues till Friday October 3rd. We invite the community for a delegation on the first day of the inquest as well an evening rally to gather and renew our calls and commitment for justice.

Lucia Vega Jimenez was a 42-year Mexican hotel worker who died while under Canadian Border Service Agency’s custody in December 2013 after being turned over to immigration authorities by TransLink police. Just prior to her scheduled deportation to Mexico, she hung herself in cells at the Vancouver International Airport. She died eight days later, on December 28, 2013. Lucia’s death was kept secret by CBSA and pubic officials for over a month.

Community members uncovered this horrific tragedy and sounded the alarm to media. Lucia's death sparked national outrage. A petition by community groups with over 8,688 signatures calls for a full, transparent and independent civilian inquiry and investigation. The petition also calls for independent civilian oversight and a comprehensive review of migrant detention policies.

Despite months of grassroots community mobilizing to seek justice for Lucia and her family, a coalition of eight immigrant, refugee and Latin American community groups have been denied participant status by the BC Coroners Service. We gathered information, organized memorials, and pressed the government for justice. We called for this inquest and an independent investigation, and still we - the community - have been shut out.

Though we have been shut out, we will not be silent. We want to know what happened to Lucia while in CBSA's custody. We want to know why CBSA hid her death for over one month. We want to know why Translink is cooperating with border officials. We want to know why Lucia did not receive support, including mental health support, services. We want to know why there is no independent accountability or oversight mechanism for migrant detention. We want to know why CBSA is detaining and deporting migrants like Lucia back to unsafe circumstances.

We condemn Canadian immigration policies and the practices of the Canada Border Services Agency for the breaking up of thousands of families and the unjust imprisonment of thousands of migrants, including children. Last year alone, 10,088 people were detained by the CBSA. Over the past five years there have been a number of migrant deaths in detention, while awaiting deportation, or upon deportation. These include Jan Szamko, Habtom Kibreab, Walji family, Hossein Blujani, Lucia Vega Jimenez, Grise, and Veronica Castro.

Migrant dignity, not migrant death!
Not one more detention, not one more deportation, not one more death!

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Justicia para Lucía: No más muertes de migrantes
Un órgano administrativo de la provincia de BC empezará una investigación pública del lunes 29 de septiembre al viernes 3 de octubre por la trágica y penosa muerte de Lucía Vega Jiménez.
La comunidad, incluyendo una coalición de ocho grupos de migrantes, refugiados y grupos Latinoamericanos han sido EXCLUIDOS de participar en esta coalición
Invitamos a la comunidad a participar como delegación en el primer día de la investigación y a un rally para unificar y renovar nuestras voces y compromiso por la justicia.
CONFERENCIA DE PRENSA Y DELEGACION COMUNITARIA
Lunes 29 de septiembre a las 8:30 am
En el Burnaby Coroners Court, MetroTower II. La manera más fácil de llegar en transporte público es si toman el skytrain a Metrotown, el edificio está junto a la estación. Caminan en la entrada principal al centro comercial y esta en el área de la plaza abierta.
RALLY Y VIGILIA
Martes 30 de septiembre a las 6:30 pm
En las oficinas de Citizenship and Immigration Canada en el 300 West Georgia junto a la biblioteca pública en el centro
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Lucía Vega Jiménez una mexicana de 42 años que trabajaba en un hotel murió en diciembre del 2013 bajo la custodia de la migra (Canadian Border Service Agency ó CBSA) después de haber sido detenida por la policía de tránsito y referida a las autoridades de migración. Justo antes de su fecha de deportación a México, Lucía se colgó en la celda de detención en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Vancouver. Murió ocho días después, el 28 de diciembre del 2013. La muerte de Lucía fue encubierta por CBSA y por las autoridades por más de un mes.
Miembros de la comunidad descubrieron la tragedia y comunicaron a los medios lo sucedido. La muerte de Lucía generó indignación a nivel nacional. Una petición de grupos comunitarios con más de 8,688 firmas hizo un llamado para exigir una investigación transparente e independiente sobre el caso de Lucía. La petición demanda una investigación supervisada por la sociedad civil y una revisión amplia de las políticas y lineamientos de detención a migrantes.

A pesar de meses de mobilización comunitaria para buscar justicia para Lucía y su familia, una coalición de ocho grupos de migrantes, refugiados y grupos latinoamericanos han sido negados como participantes en la investigación por el órgano administrativo de BC. Recopilamos información, organizamos vigilias y presionamos al gobierno para que se haga justicia. Exigímos esta investigación y aún así, nosotros - la comunidad - hemos sido excluidos.
Aunque se nos ha cerrado la oportunidad de participar dentro de la investigación, no nos quedaremos callados. Queremos saber que le pasó a Lucía mientras estaba en la custodia de CBSA. Queremos saber porqué CBSA ocultó su muerte por más de un mes. Queremos saber porqué Translink está cooperando con la migra. Queremos saber porqué Lucía no recibió ningún apoyo, incluyendo consejería y servicios de salud mental. Queremos saber porqué CBSA delega su responsabilidad de cuidar de los migrantes detenidos a una agencia de seguridad privada que no tiene que rendir cuentas al público. Queremos saber porque no hay mecanismos independientes de rendición de cuentas por las detenciones a migrantes. Queremos saber porqué CBSA está arrestando y deportando a migrantes que como Lucía corren peligro de regresar a sus países de orígen por diferentes circunstancias.

Condenamos las políticas migratorias canadienses y las prácticas de CBSA por la ruptura de miles de familias y el encarcelamiento injusto de miles de migrantes incluyendo niñ@s. En el último año, 10,088 personas fueron detenidas por CBSA. En los últimos cinco años ha habido una serie de muertes de migrantes en centros de detención mientras esperaban su deportación y/ó al ser deportados. Entre estas muertes están las muertes de Jan Szamko, Habtom Kibreab, la familia Walji, Hossein Blujani, Lucia Vega Jimenez, Grise y Veronica Castro

Dignidad para los migrantes, no más muertes de migrantes!
No más detenciones, no más deportaciones, no más muertes!

Resisting cuts to Refugee Health Care

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Sanctuary City Movement, Van Coast Salish territories: Principles & New Website

Check out and share Sanctuary City vancouver Coast Salish Territories Website below. Support, endorse, and share the principles- only together will we build a community and movement where ALL people regardless of status will have access to health care and services without fear!

Sanctuary City Website

Sanctuary City Principles:

Our cities are comprised of people of all migration statuses who contribute to community. Limiting access to services based on migration status creates a fundamentally unjust system in which sections of our community are excluded, exploited, and denied access to their basic human rights.
In recent years increasingly exclusionary immigration policies have been introduced. Policies such as Bill C-31, Bill C-24, Bill C-10, cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program, and the changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program create a state of fear. People are being denied access to basic services such as health care and are left vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. People are being treated as disposable economic commodities rather than human beings.
Honouring the land and actions of the First Nations that have lived on this land since time immemorial, we want to build communities that are in solidarity with Indigenous land defenders on Turtle Island and with global movements against dispossession. As part of the growing Sanctuary and Solidarity City movements across North America/Turtle Island we seek to collaborate with communities and service providers to create safer access to services for all people based on need rather than status.
As we move toward Greater Vancouver becoming a Sanctuary City, we are asking that service providers and municipal governments incorporate the following principles into their service provision:
1) Access to basic and essential services will be determined by need and not migration status
Services such as education, health services, food security, dignified housing, public transit, public safety, legal aid, and municipal services are meant for everyone regardless of status. This means:

• Not asking for proof of citizenship or information regarding immigration status when people are accessing services
• In circumstances when identification is required, service providers will accept other forms of identification, including but not limited to: letters of reference/support, municipal ID, expired ID
• Apply human and labour rights equally to all people regardless of migration status, and value people based upon their humanity

2) Access without fear
The fear of debt, deportation, and/or death should not limit people’s access to services. We recognize that the responsibility of enforcing immigration law falls onto Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) alone, and is NOT the responsibility of service providers, health care workers, other police agencies, transit security nor the municipal government. As such service providers will:

• Treat all information regarding other peoples’ immigration status as strictly confidential, and never share it with CBSA or CIC
• Create and ensure CBSA free zones, where public spaces such as hospitals, clinics, schools, parks, community centers, neighborhood houses, settlement services, food banks, libraries, shelters, construction sites, city hall and public transit are zones where CBSA are not called, welcomed, or allowed entry
• Ensure that municipal and public resources will not be used to support CBSA investigations or activities

Workplaces, community groups, and service providers can endorse our principles and commit to working towards them. Endorsements can be sent to sanctuaryhealthvancouver@gmail.com.

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Article: Sanctuary City from below

"declarations of sanctuary by municipal governments are only meaningful if they are accompanied by clear implementation strategies and accountability mechanisms; victories must be defended by our communities to prevent them from being rolled back; our political power lies in challenging, not appealing to, power; and zones of sanctuary are actively constituted not by politicians but by us – as service providers, educators, healthcare professionals, and neighbours – on the basis of solidarity and mutual aid"

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Check out David Ball's 7 Part series looking inside the Sanctuary City Movement here:

Status: Inside Vancouver's Sanctuary Movement- A Tyee 7 part series (July 2014)