By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware | Word In Black
(WIB) – Leaders of the Black Church PAC are calling on President Joe Biden to grant a presidential pardon to Ravi Ragbir, a longtime immigrant rights advocate who has spent years navigating the threat of deportation. Now, with an urgent online petition making the rounds, faith leaders and supporters are hoping the White House will hear — and heed — their plea.
At the heart of this appeal is Ragbir’s record of championing families and communities at risk of deportation, alongside the question of whether America can live up to its own rhetoric about inclusion, fairness, and redemption. The Black Church PAC — formed in 2022 to harness the political power of faith-based leaders — sees Ragbir as exactly the type of justice fighter who deserves reprieve. His work, they say, aligns with the very values they believe should guide immigration policy and reflect the compassion of the nation.
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Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, founder of Justice for Julius and a Black Church PAC organizer, underscored Ragbir’s unwavering commitment in the group’s letter to President Biden.
“As an immigrant rights leader, he (Ragbir) has spent decades standing in the gap —fighting to keep families together and advocating for justice and dignity for the vulnerable. He has been a steadfast beacon of hope in a world that too often forgets the least of these,” Jones-Davis wrote in the letter.
“Despite his tireless service he faces the threat of deportation —a showdown that continues to loom over his life and ministry.”
Born in Trinidad and Tobago legally came to the U.S. on a visitor’s visa in 1991. In 1994, he became a lawful permanent resident or green card holder.
However, according to court documents, in 2001, Ragbir “was convicted of wire fraud arising from his employment as a low-level mortgage loan processor” — a conviction he’s since tried to vacate. Ragbir served his time in prison, but in 2006, he was detained and ordered deported by an immigration judge. despite the fact he’d held a green card for 15 years at the time. His struggle to stay in this country has been ongoing since then and has empowered him to fight for others in the same straits.
In 2010, Ragbir also became a full-time organizer for the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, one of the largest coalitions in the city focused on immigrant rights, with over 20 faith-based and supporting organizations representing over 3,000 New Yorkers. In 2018, Ragbir filed a First Amendment lawsuit, alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been targeting him for deportation because of his political activism.
According to the Center for Migration Studies of New York, as of 2021, Black undocumented immigrants were nearly 6% of the total undocumented population living in the United States. More than half of that population comes from Haiti, Jamaica, and Nigeria.
“Like so many people who are living in this country under the threat of deportation, I know how important it is to raise our voices against the injustices in the system,” Ragbir said in a statement at the time. “This lawsuit is not just about me, it is about all of the members of our community who are speaking out in our struggle for immigrant rights.”
In February 2022, Ragbir announced that the “government had agreed not to depart him for the next three years, as part of a settlement agreement in my First Amendment lawsuit. That gives us three more years to pursue other forms of relief that I need to be able to remain in the U.S. permanently.”
However on January 13, Ragbir will undergo another ICE supervision check-in — his last before his deferred action expires.
”Ravi is an integral and key leader in our communities. The trauma and continued aggression this surveillance adds must end,” New Jersey-based American Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dr. Robin Tanner said in her statement of support.
Another supporter, Rev. Ross Upshaw of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, said Ragbir “has complied with all legal requirements and should be released from having to do check-ins.”
And, on its website, the Black Church PAC is clear about its support of Ragbir: “Ravi’s work has strengthened communities, kept families together, and inspired thousands to believe in a more just system.”