“Liberty and Justice for All” Rally – July 26, 2025
Genesee Valley Indivisible & GVCP PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Walter E. Pond, PhD
Genesee Valley Indivisible
info@geneseevalleyindivisible.org
Dr. Arnold Matlin
Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
ahmatlingvcp@igc.org
Dateline: Geneseo, NY 7/13/25
GENESEE VALLEY INDIVISIBLE and GENESEE VALLEY CITIZENS for PEACE
announce a rally
“Liberty and Justice for All” • Saturday, July 26, 2025 • 11:00am to 12:00pm
Dansville Village Plaza, 150 Franklin St./Rte 36 (near I-390 Exit 5), Dansville, NY
Roadside right-of-way on either side of the entrance to Village Plaza
Schedule of Events
- 11:00 am Host/Introductions – Arnie Matlin and Walter Pond
- Speakers – Rev. Laurel Nelson, a speaker about recent ICE activity in our rural counties
- Musical performance – Mary Lester & others
- 12:00 pm Conclusion of Rally
All people who come to the U.S. seeking safety from dangerous situations in their home countries must have their human rights respected.
But right now, tens of thousands of asylum-seekers are behind bars in ICE detention centers across the U.S. that are plagued with horrific conditions.
A growing number of U.S. citizens — many of them Latinos — are reporting they were detained for various periods by immigration agents in what critics say were instances of racial profiling and overzealous policing.
Why it matters: U.S. citizens aren’t supposed to be arrested or detained unless agents allege they’re breaking laws. But reports of citizens of Latino descent being detained — or stopped and asked to prove citizenship — are rippling through Latino communities nationwide.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hasn’t released statistics on such detentions in months. Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, told Axios that recent reports of citizens wrongly being arrested are false — and that “the media is shamefully peddling a false narrative” to demonize ICE agents.
- But an Axios review of news reports, social media videos and claims by advocacy groups about raids since President Trump took office found several instances in which U.S. citizens alleged they were wrongfully detained — in one case, for 10 days in immigration detention.
The big picture:
The allegations come as ICE continues raids in mostly Latino communities in the Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego areas, cities in Texas, New Mexico, New York, and Florida, and agricultural centers such as Central California.