Repubblika calls on US ambassador to uphold democracy ahead of embassy vigil

Updated 2.50pm

Civil society NGO Repubblika has written to the US ambassador to Malta to express its “deep alarm” at incidents involving federal immigration officials in the US, while announcing plans to hold a vigil outside the US embassy in Ta' Qali on Tuesday night. 

In an open letter to US ambassador Somers Farkas, who recently took up the post, Repubblika said it had “followed with horror the growing number of deaths associated with immigration enforcement and detention” in the US. 

It called on the ambassador to uphold democratic principles while announcing Tuesday's vigil “in response to the murders and cruel atrocities currently being committed in America under the guise of enforcing immigration laws”. 

The gathering will take place at 6.30pm on Tuesday and has also been endorsed by political party Momentum, who said the force used by ICE officials was "deeply concerning".

Repubblika said the “credible reports of systemic abuse, medical neglect and excessive use of force” were “not isolated incidents”, while also highlighting the “distressing” treatment of minors by immigration officials.

Repubblika’s statement comes just days after 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis – the second recent ICE shooting in the city – and a five-year-old boy was detained while returning home from school.

Repubblika will hold a vigil outside the US embassy in Ta' Qali on Tuesday night. File photo.

The NGO said US human rights and civil society actors had described the incidents as “cruel, disproportionate and incompatible with the rule of law” and warned of the federal government’s methods resembling authoritarian regimes.

“Against this backdrop, we have taken note of your public statement that you would not hesitate to promote President Trump’s political agenda in Malta”, the organisation said, adding it was “profoundly disturbed” by the US leader’s agenda.

“What is being implemented in the United States today cannot be reconciled with the democratic values that the rest of the world has long associated with American leadership.”

Farkas, a former model, philanthropist and advertising executive, said in a video posted to the US embassy’s social media channels last week that she “will not hesitate to pursue” Donald Trump’s agenda.

In the video, she said the US and Malta were connected by “a common commitment to independence, peace and prosperity,” as well as “a heritage built on shared democratic values”.

Repubblika expressed its fears that the US risked becoming a “model for strongmen” and a “warning rather than an inspiration”, while stressing its letter was in solidarity with the American people.

It called on Farkas to “use your office not to defend or export policies that undermine fundamental rights, but to uphold principles that once made American democracy a global point of reference”.

“Our protest is not against America. It is against injustice. And it is motivated by the hope that the United States can still return to the values it once taught the world to admire.”

Since retaking office, Donald Trump has pursued an ‘America First’ approach on the world stage, frequently putting him at odds with European leaders, while pushing policies targeting alleged illegal immigrants within the US.

The letter was signed by Repubblika president Vicki Ann Cremona.