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#Freedomgiving Hunger Strikes Spread to 3 New Facilities as Original Participants Enter 5th Day Without Food Reports of Solitary Confinement and Medical Abuse Raise Concerns for Detainees’ Safety in Custody By Fahd Ahmed, DRUM, B. Loewe, #Not1More, 30 Nov 2015
Updates: · 13 detainees in Aurora, CO, 9 detainees in Adelanto, and 9 detainees in South Texas Detention Facility (where a strike by 8 people has been going for a week) join the #freedomgiving strike · Officials placed four detainees in Etowah in solitary confinement and brought them back to general population after several days · Theo Lacy officials verbally threatened detainees and placed four in solitary · Detainees at Etowah are reporting disturbing medical abuse including being forcefully catheterized while being verbally abused · Advocates are driving calls to ICE Field Directors Brian Acuña and Gabriel Valdez raising concerns for detainee safety and demanding their release
November 30, 2015 Today three additional centers join what has become known as the #freedomgiving hunger strikes. On the eve of Thanksgiving, 110+ men who came to the US seeking safety but instead have been held in detention for seven months to up to two years refused their meals and demanded their freedom at the Etowah, Theo Lacy, and Otay detention centers.
While Immigration authorities usually deny or delay acknowledgement of detainee organizing activity, ICE spokesperson Virginia Kice told the press on its first day, “...The agency is closely monitoring the welfare of 35 residents housed at the Theo Lacy immigration detention facility.”
Despite Kice’s statement, officials at the centers responded by placing several participants in Etowah and Theo Lacy in solitary confinement and verbally threatening others. Supporters outside held rallies and drove calls to ICE Field Director Brian Acuña in charge of the region that includes Etowah and ICE Field Director Gabriel Valdez who oversees Theo Lacy demanding the isolated detainees be returned to general population and released.
However, as calls poured in, detainees called with disturbing reports of medical abuse at the Etowah center where a support rally will take place this afternoon. One of the strikers reports being forcefully and painfully catheterized while being verbally abused and insulted repeatedly and other incidents are coming to light pending confirmation.
Today, as those strikers face mounting intimidation and repression, they are joined by detainees in three additional centers: 13 at Aurora, CO, 9 in Adelanto, and 9 detainees joined eight men who have been striking for the past week at the South Texas Detention Facility.
Fahd Ahmed, Executive Director of DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving and a principal support for the strikes, explains, "The reports we’re receiving of ICE’s response cause grave concern for the detainees’ safety and should be cause for their immediate release. People have fled their countries seeking security only to end up rotting away in ICE detention centers for months and years. We are witnessing a crisis of the country's immigration detention system. It is a failure of the system, and it is a failure of humanity."
Advocates are raising questions about the role of the detention bed quota in the asylum-seekers’ captivity. They point toward the fact that most detainees have already had their credible fear findings, passed the 6 month mark in custody, or come from places where the government has failed to obtain travel documents and is unable to actually remove them leaving them in indefinite detention as a result. Each one of these should have been a reason to release the detainees on parole or supervision.
With the addition of today’s facilities, more than 1,0000 detainees have gone on hunger strike in 10 facilities in the past seven weeks.
“What else needs to happen to release these people?” asks Marisa Franco, director of the #Not1More campaign. “Whistleblowers should receive protection not retaliation but the opposite is happening inside this country’s detention centers.”
A timeline of the recent wave of strikes is below:
· October 14: 54 South Asian detainees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan detained at the El Paso Processing /Detention Center started a hunger strike at breakfast time #ElPaso54 · October 18th: 14 Detainees from India and Bangladesh launch a hunger strike in Lasalle Detention Center #LaSalle14 · October 28th: 27 women from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil and Europe detained in the T.Don Hutto Detention center began a hunger strike, the number soon grew to almost 500 women.. #Hutto27 · October 30th: 20 men predominantly from Central America, started a hunger strike in the West Facility of Adelanto, California, the number soon grew to 300. #Adelanto20 · November 4th: 90 men from the East Facility in Adelanto, California went on hunger strike, threats and retaliation reduced the number to 26 men from Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. #AdelantoHungerStrike · November 25th: 48 in Etowah, 37 in Theo Lacy, and 26 in Otay Mesa launch the #freedomgiving hunger strikes at dinner demanding their freedom. · November 30th: 13 in Aurora, 9 in Adelanto, and 17 in South Texas (8 of whom who had already been striking for seven days) join with the #freedomgiving strike.
http://notonemoredeportation.com/free-the-hunger-striking-detainees/
= = = ***NATIONAL PRESS CALL*** BREAKING: Another Wave of Hunger Strikes Launched at 3 Detention Centers Over 100 Detainees Have Risked Health and Retaliation to Demand their Release on Thanksgiving Day On Thanksgiving Day, when many people will be readying to gather with their families and loved ones over meals, advocates will be announcing the launch of hunger strikes by detainees who have been trapped in indefinite detention at 3 detention centers.
An October hunger strike by Fifty four South Asian asylum-seekers at the El Paso Detention Center sparked a wave of similar organizing in ICE custody that was met with release for some and harsh retaliation for others. The El Paso strikers spread the tactic to LaSalle, Louisiana and inspired several other strikes across the country, including today’s strikes at Etowah Detention Center (Alabama), Theo Lacy Facility (California), Otay Detention Center (California).
Detainees undertaking the hunger strikes range from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Trinidad & Tobago. The hunger strikers have been in detention for a minimum of 7 months, with some having been in detention for 2 years.
These developments come just after the anniversary of President Obama’s executive action and highlight that current policies are still rife with inhumane practices and conditions.
Press may join the briefings on Thursday November 26th and Friday, November 27th at 12PM Eastern // 9am PST by dialing: 712.432.0075 code: 893316
A petition for the strikers and updates on each facility is available at www.notonemoredeportation.com/free-the-hunger-striking-detainees/
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