Following pressure from the community, asylum-seeker Constantin Bakala has been granted an emergency stay of removal. We believe this means that he will have one to three months before the court rules on our latest request to reopen his case (so that he can have a fair hearing with legal representation). In the meantime, we ask that you sign the petition below to ensure that ICE does not deport him until he has exhausted all available legal options.
To be delivered to the ICE Washington Field Office
Dear Director,
Please do not deport Constantin Bakala (A216-267-604) while his legal challenges and his family's asylum cases can be fully reviewed in court. Mr. Bakala has been a peaceful pro-democracy activist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the persecution he and his family suffered indicates that his life would be endangered if he returned. The immigration court clearly violated protocol when it did not provide Constantin with a psychological evaluation to determine whether he was competent to represent himself in court. He poses no threat to the community and we ask that he be released on bond, reunited with his family in San Diego, and allowed to consolidate his case for asylum with the rest of his family.
