March 9, 2014
http://www.notonemoredeportation.com/portfolio/support-the-1200-detainees-on-hunger-strike-near-seattle/
On Friday, March 7th, 1200 people held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, one of the largest immigration prisons in the country, began a hunger strike and work stoppage. They are putting their bodies on the line to protest the on-going deportations overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the inhumane conditions at the for-profit detention center owned and operated by the GEO Corporation.
Inspired in part by the February 24 #Not1More deportation action at the detention center, the hunger strikers timed their action to begin on Friday. On Fridays, the people facing imminent deportation are separated and processed for deportation, weekly events that contribute to the nearly 2,000,000 deported during the Obama administration. The hunger strikers join a nation-wide movement of resistance against unprecedented levels of detention and deportation.
Apart from calling attention to the unrelenting deportations, the hunger strikers demands include
· Improved food quality
· Improved treatment (including medical treatment)
· Increased pay for work in the facility (the current pay is $1.00/day)
· An end to exorbitant commissary prices
· Fundamental fairness and justice
People in the detention center are risking their health by not eating and withstanding potential backlash for participating in the hunger strike. Sign below and share widely to support the hunger strikers and their demands. Not one more deportation!
To: Natalie Asher, Washington Field Office Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
CC: Daniel Ragsdale, Deputy Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
John M. Hurley, Senior Vice President, GEO Corrections and Detention
I support the hunger strikers at the Northwest Detention Center and their demands. I am alarmed and disturbed by the ongoing deportations and the conditions facing those held at the Northwest Detention Center awaiting deportation.
I urge you to initiate accountable negotiations with the hunger strikers and/or their chosen representatives. I urge you to take action to implement the demands immediately, and in good faith. I also want your guarantee that hunger strikers will not face retaliation.
Maru Mora Villalpando
Latino Advocacy
www.latinoadvocacy.org
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