EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – On Wednesday, April 30, local residents will gather outside Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s Eau Claire office (404 S Barstow St.) at 3:30 p.m. to stage a peaceful sit-in protest. The action aims to demand accountability for the federal government’s ongoing unconstitutional deportations and human rights abuses, including the forcible disappearance and trafficking of thousands, among them U.S. citizens and children, while claiming this action to be immigration enforcement.
Protesters are also calling attention to disturbing images and reports from CECOT, El Salvador’s mega-prison, where transferred detainees, many without formal charges, face inhumane conditions in violation of US Constitutional rights to due process and not to face cruel and unusual punishment. These inhumane conditions include arbitrary detention, overcrowding, lack of sanitation, inadequate food, and prolonged sensory deprivation, such as lights being left on 24/7.
Despite reports of these abuses, Rep. Van Orden and other Republican leaders in Congress have refused to take action. In a recent Breitbart interview, Van Orden appeared to support the administration’s unchecked actions, saying it was time to put “out of control jurists back into the place where they understand that we are three co-equal branches of government,” raising alarms about legislative intent to undermine the judiciary.
Laura Benjamin, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, will attend the sit-in. Fellow Democratic candidates Emily Berge and Rebecca Cooke have been invited but are unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
“The Constitution is clear on this,” said Ms. Benjamin in a statement. “All people, citizens or not, have the right to due process in the courts. It’s how we ensure accountability, transparency, and justice. Without due process, there is nothing stopping this or any administration from ‘disappearing’ people without cause. That’s not a democracy. That’s a dictatorship.”
The event was organized by a local activist and promoted on Ms. Benjamin’s ActionNetwork page. For more information, please visit https://actionnetwork.org/events/sit-in-derrick-van-ordens-eau-claire-office.
