Two leaders of faith-based immigrant rights group charge ICE with violating their rights
Kaji Douša and Ravi Ragbir of the New Sanctuary Coalition point to recent reports as evidence that they are being targeted for being outspoken advocates for immigrants.
For Kaji Douša, senior pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church in New York, crossing the US-Mexico border had been fairly uneventful. A former San Diego resident, she had passed through the US Customs and Border Protection checkpoints many times without incident. But in January, as she went from Tijuana back to the United States, something was different.
She described being detained for a “secondary inspection” by a CBP officer and escorted into a room where she was met by two men who wore different uniforms and interrogated her for at least an hour and a half.
Recent reports suggest that the US government is scrutinizing faith leaders such as Douša, who regularly appears on MSNBC to discuss immigration issues. In internal Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by a San Diego NBC affiliate, Douša and several others are listed in a government database of activists, journalists, and lawyers. Douša’s name and photo appear with a yellow X across her face, indicating that her pass allowing for expedited screening along the Southwest US-Mexico border has been revoked.
