Liyah Birru is a Black immigrant woman from Ethiopia who was prosecuted and incarcerated for defending herself against her abusive husband. After serving her sentence, Liyah faces the added punishment of deportation. She has now been in detention for an entire year.

Liyah’s story is all too familiar. Black women, particularly immigrants, are incarcerated and deported at over twice the rate of white women. Upwards of 90% of incarcerated women are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault.

A cage is no place for a survivor to heal. It’s time to take action.
We’ve exhausted nearly all legal remedies for Liyah. At this point, her only chance at freedom is a pardon from CA Governor Newsom.

We’re asking you to take one minute today to call his office. It’s this kind of show of public support that wins defense campaigns and ultimately gets freedom for survivors. Your call could make a world of difference for Liyah.

*CALL IN DETAILS*

Call: 916-445-2841

Call Script: Hello my name is (___________) I’m calling to urge Governor Newsom to take action and sign Liyah’s pardon. Liyah is a Black immigrant survivor incarcerated for defending herself against violence. Liyah is now facing deportation and has been detained at Yuba county for a year. Her only form of relief is for Governor Newsom to sign her pardon, a pardon that will grant Liyah’s freedom. Will Governor Newsom sign Liyah’s pardon?

You can also follow up with an email here: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/. Select ‘Clemency-Pardons’ as the subject in the drop down menu.

Learn more about Liyah at https://freeliyah.org/.