Planned Parenthood Stands With Alejandra Pablos

Washington, DC   — Last month, a well-known immigrant and reproductive rights organizer and advocate named Alejandra Pablos was detained at a regular U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check-in in Arizona, where she currently remains. 

Pablos’ arrest is part of a broader pattern of the Trump-Pence administration using ICE to single out immigrant rights activists for speaking out and working to mobilize their communities. In recent months, ICE detained prominent immigrant activist Maru Mora-Villalpando for her “extensive involvement with anti-ICE protests and Latino advocacy programs” as well as activists Ravi Ragbir, executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, and Eliseo Jurado,the husband of a Peruvian woman taking sanctuary at a Colorado church.

Planned Parenthood calls for Alejandra Pablos to be given due process, and for the Trump-Pence administration to stop using ICE to target activists.

Statement from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

We will not allow America to be a country where community activists are detained for speaking out. We cannot allow our immigration system to become a means of punishing those who are fighting for their communities.  Immigrants make our country stronger, and they make our movement stronger, too. Immigrants are a part of Planned Parenthood’s family — they are our patients, our providers, our volunteers, and, in the case of Alejandra Pablos, fierce activists and partners.  

We believe that the arrest of Alejandra Pablos was a targeted attack. When leaders from within our movement become targets of the very injustice they have fought against, it is not a coincidence.

Alejandra Pablos is a strong leader who advocates for reproductive health and rights in our communities. We will not silently stand by as someone in our family is under attack. We call for Alejandra to be given due process, and we call upon the Trump-Pence administration to stop using ICE to target activists.

 

###

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.