Ruling: Residents of Historic Black Community in Louisiana Will Get Day in Court in Challenge to Rezoning Ordinance 

The Descendants Project is Trying to Prevent Construction of Grain Terminal

On Thursday, a district court judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an organization that advocates for descendants of enslaved people. The Descendants Project is challenging a corrupt decades-old rezoning ordinance as it seeks to prevent construction of a massive grain terminal in Wallace, a historic Black community in the heart of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley.  

The hearing clears the way for the judge to rule on the merits of the case. At issue is the ordinance, which remains on the books even though the official who pushed it through the parish council in 1990 went to prison for crimes directly related to the rezoning. 

Now San Francisco-based investor Christopher James, hailed elsewhere for environmentalism and “impact investing,” is leading an effort to build the terminal using the ordinance. Wallace residents view the project as a grave danger to both the health and heritage of a community that contains two landmarked former plantations and possible burial sites of enslaved people. 

“Today was a win for our community, one that proves the strength of our case,” said Jo Banner, who founded the Descendants Project with her sister Joy. “We’re looking forward to getting information that has been withheld from us for many years.” 

For more information, please see the press release and the case page.

Sanctuary Leaders, Immigrant Rights Groups, Church Reinstate Lawsuit Against ICE With New Claims 

Allied with immigrant rights groups and a church, four sanctuary leaders have filed a Second Amended Complaint in their lawsuit against U.S. immigration agencies and officials for targeting them with retaliatory and excessive civil fines. They added new claims, alleging that the immigration agencies and officials intentionally and recklessly inflicted emotional distress on them. The groups also sent a sign-on letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from clergy members, faith leaders, congregations, and allied communities across the country calling for redress.

The sanctuary leaders – Vicky Chávez, María Chavalán Sut, Edith Espinal, and Hilda Ramírez – are asylum seekers who, under the threat of deportation, took refuge in houses of worship. Each became an activist and leader, garnering significant media attention as part of the national sanctuary movement. Records obtained through ongoing Freedom of Information Act litigation reveal a concerted effort on behalf of the Trump administration to track and target these leaders over a multi-year period. 

For more information please see the press release and case page.

Please Join Us for 'Cruel by Design: Immigrant Detention' 

Join the Center for Constitutional Rights and Immigrant Defense Project on May 5, 2022 at 5 pm ET for an evening of music, film, and discussion centering resistance to the U.S. immigration regime. Building on a new report,“Cruel by Design: Voices of Resistance from Immigration Detention,” the event will feature two powerful, award-winning short films: Ale Libre and THE FACILITY

• Ale Libre follows a criminalized community organizer, Alejandra Pablos, while she prepares for her deportation case. (Presented by The New Yorker)  
• THE FACILITY is a harrowing, intimate account of immigrants struggling for freedom and justice from within ICE detention during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Presented by Field of Vision)

Our evening will begin with a musical performance themed around immigration and borderlands, composed by Nathan Felix and The Dream Unfinished. Following the screenings, the filmmakers and protagonists will join a discussion with staff from the Center for Constitutional Rights and Immigrant Defense Project.  

Panelists:

• Alejandra Pablos, Community Organizer, Ale Libre 
• Maya Cueva, Director, Ale Libre
• Andrea Manrique,THE FACILITY
• Seth Freed Wessler, Director, THE FACILITY

The evening will be emceed by Jane Shim of Immigrant Defense Project, and the panel will be moderated by Samah Sisay of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

To register, please visit the event page.