April 19, 2021
Contact:
Leave No One Behind; leavenoonebehindmuralproject@gmail.com
Local Organizer:
Willie Hager; VFPJax@mail.com, 904-465-3250
Jahn Ruhman; jallan.ruhman@gmail.com
COALITION DEMANDS PRESIDENT BIDEN BRING DEPORTED VETERANS HOME BEFORE END OF 100 DAYS
Mural project installation comes to DC rallying around Deported Veterans and reuniting families in their call to the Biden-Harris Administration and policymakers.
Washington, DC —The Leave No One Behind Mural Project (LNOB) urging the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to enact immigration policy to repatriate Deported Veterans, protect Childhood Arrivals, end family separation will host a press conference coinciding with President Biden’s end of first 100 days in office. The coalition invites elected officials and community members to join their vigil and press conference.
Local DC artist Flor Rivas will pay tribute to local Maryland deported veteran Laura Meza in a mural painted during the press conference. The LNOB murals are the artistic work of lead artist Javier Salazar Rojas.
WHAT: Leave No One Behind Mural Project Press Conference
WHEN: Tuesday, April 20th, 2021 at 1:30 PM EDT
WHERE: 400 Kennedy ST NW, 20011, Washington DC
WHO: Leave No One Behind Mural Coalition, Repatriate Our Patriots, Veterans For Peace, Immigration Justice Network, Local DC Artist and Community Storytellers
The coalition will be available for questions after the press conference.
The coalition urges elected officials, Congress, and the Biden-Harris administration to take a series of policy steps to protect immigrants by:
- Passing an Executive Action or a series of actions as outlined by Senator Tammy Duckworth to begin the process of repatriating deported veterans.
- Implementing the New Way Forward Act into law as reintroduced by Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
- Taking concrete steps to end family separation and support family reunification.
The multi-sited public art project uplifts the stories of (im)migrants currently left out of President Biden’s Immigration Reform. The murals are being displayed across various cities in the United States, where the intersection and impact of mass incarceration and deportation have been intensely felt by the passage of the 1994 Crime Bill and the Clinton era immigration laws that made the system punitive. The mural project launched in Tijuana, Baja California, and is being installed in over thirty locations in the U.S., Mexico, and other countries.
Press is also welcome to attend a vigil at the Peace Monument at 10:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 20th.
The Leave No One Behind Mural Project is a project supported by veteran support groups, immigrant organizations, and academics: Unified U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center; Repatriate Our Patriots; New Way Forward; Veterans for Peace; Deported Veteran Support House-Juarez Bunker; Otros Dreams en Acción; Immigrant Justice Network; Humanizing Deportation; Deportados Unidos en la Lucha; DREAM Will Childhood Arrivals; Veterans For Peace/ Sgt Barrios Memorial Chapter #182; AmeriMex Dreams en Acción; Border Line Crisis Center; Meta Peace Team Detroit Michigan; Michigan Coalition for Human Rights; Michigan Poor People’s Campaign; Military Families Speak Out; Friends of Friendship Park; Via Internacional Cafe; Playas de Tijuana Mural Project; Reclaim the Dream; Border Network for Human Rights; Desolate Zine; Las Americas Advocacy Center; Queer Bar Association.
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For more information:
Leavenoonebehindmuralproject.org
leavenoonebehindmuralproject@gmail.com
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