He knew ICE was after him
VETERAN IMMIGRATION rights activist Ravi Ragbir sensed he was sitting square in the government’s cross hairs.
Ragbir, prior to his Thursday check-in with ICE officials, predicted his arrest in a video over the long-ago legal woes that he suspected — correctly — were about to land him in lockup.
“If you are hearing this, or listening to this, it is because I was taken in by ICE,” Ragbir explains calmly on the video posted on social media on Saturday. “When they detain me, I expect to be deported.”
Ragbir, 43, remained in custody Saturday at the federal Krome Detention Facility in Miami pending a Tuesday hearing in New York where attorneys hope to win his release.
The native of Trinidad and Tobago called on his supporters to appeal for his release inside the U.S., his home for the last 27 years.
“You who know me, who have been with me through my trouble, I will not be here,” he said. “If you want to stop this, you have to act now. You have to reach out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
A Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally in Manhattan was already slated, calling for the release of Ragbir and fellow New Sanctuary Coalition activist Jean Montrevil.
The latter, a Haitian native, was taken into custody by ICE agents on Jan. 3 outside his home in Far Rockaway, Queens.
Ragbir later referenced the scary fallout for relatives and friends stunned by his sudden arrest and the threat of expulsion by ICE officials.
“Everyone is upset, everyone is terrified, because they know I will not be here with them — with my family, my wife, my friends, my supporters,” he said.
Sources already indicated to the Daily News that immigration officials could face contempt of court charges if Ragbir is deported before his hearing. A judge had signed a temporary order prohibiting the feds from transferring Ragbir from New York. ICE officials said he was already in the air headed to Florida when they learned of the ruling.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association ripped City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez, a Ragbir backer arrested Thursday in the aftermath his arrest.
“You are a Liar, Coward and an embarrassment to the City Council,” read a post on the SBA’s Twitter feed. “Ravi Ragbir was a criminal who stole from poor people. That’s not the person to protect shame on YOU.”
Rodriguez and fellow Councilman Jumaane Williams were arrested, accused of blocking an ambulance during the protest. Sources said Ragbir was inside.
Ragbir was convicted of wire fraud in 2000, and he claims bad legal advice led to aggravated felony charges because the amount of the losses was set at $350,000.
He says the actual amount was $10,000, and that he was merely a low-level worker processing applications for a real estate broker. Ragbir served 21/2 years behind bars.
As head of the New Sanctuary Coalition, Ragbir helped thousands of people facing detention and deportation — and now finds himself in the same position.
His attorneys filed legal papers against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other federal officials seeking Ragbir’s release.