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Below is a letter from an immigrant detainee from Mali who is being held in Passaic County Jail. Mr. Ba Madani, a 54 year old man with diabetes, was denied asylum and has been held in jail with a final deportation order since April 19, 2004. At his review hearings in September 2004 and January 2005 Mr. Madani was denied release on the basis that his deportation to Mali is imminent. However the Mali embassy is refusing to issue travel documents.
March 11, 2005
Today is my fourth day on hunger strike. I am not feeling well. My diabetic condition is worsening. Both my legs are numb from the heel down. Thanks God my spirit is up. I must fight for what I believe is the right thing to do. It is not my intent to fight anybody. I just want to prove to myself that I am still a human being. I believe at some point something is gonna happen. I still believe in America, land of justice and liberty for all. I am in jail because of the
immigration laws. I am not a criminal and I will never be.
Please help Mr. Madani and all the other immigrant detainees. New Jersey Civil
Rights Defense Committee is working with the Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security’s Audit of Hudson and Passaic County Jails. The audit of Hudson will start in mid-April and the audit of Passaic will start in mid-May. Most of the detainees do not have attorneys so NJCRDC is bringing witnesses into their interviews to help protect them from retaliation from the county jails and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Please help out by becoming a witness.
Witness Training for Government Audit
March 22, 2005 at 7:30 pm
Christ Church
5 Paterson Street
New Brunswick, NJ
For more information see http://www.nj-civilrights.org or email us at