Issue 21: "We should not have to protest [...] in a time of a pandemic"
Welcome to this week’s edition of IMM Print Weekly, a newsletter that showcases the stories of detained immigrants and their allies.
We seek to shine a light on how immigrant prisons and jails impact human beings and communities, celebrate the work of those advocating for detention abolition, and provide resources on how to get involved.
In this week’s edition: immigrants expose life in detention during a pandemic and the companies that are profiting off of COVID-19.
Freedom for Immigrants is continuing to raise money for our National Bond Fund. Since we launched our bond fund, we have bonded out over 260 people, paying over $1.6 million. If any of the stories we’ve published in IMM Print have moved you, please consider donating here.
Immigrants Detained at BTC: "We Have a lot of flu like symptoms going around"
247 immigrants detained at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida wrote a letter this week outlining the conditions many are facing in ICE custody amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many other ICE jails and prisons, BTC is an overcrowded facility, with 6 people sharing a 10x12 room. CDC and other medical professionals recommend that people practice social distancing to stay safe, but that is impossible in jails and prisons.
“On March 17th, 2020 we had a water outage that was supposed to be for 2 hours (we did not get notified in advance) and ended up being 5 hours without drinking water, toilet use or shower which limited our hygiene and ability to defend ourselves against this rapidly spreading virus (Please note that a facility of this magnitude does not have any emergency/backup water supply for the over 500 people that are detained here.) At the regular lockdown hour at 18:30 we were instructed to go back to our rooms with feces in most of the toilets. When the security was notified about the unsanitary situations we were told to proceed to the rooms and turn on the toilet vents in order to vacate the disturbing smell and spread of germs and bacteria. After a peaceful protest for about 20 minutes the water was finally turned back on and everybody returned to their rooms. We should not have to protest for a right to have running water in a time of a pandemic”
Read their full letter here.
Prison Companies Are Profiting Off of COVID-19: We Must Hold Them Accountable
When ICE ended all social visitation in its over 200 immigrant prisons and jails, it cut off a crucial lifeline. While video visitation and phone calls exist in immigration detention, these services are offered at exorbitant prices. A 20-minute phone call can cost as much as $11.50 including processing fees, even though the Federal Communications Commission has capped interstate phone calls. Video visitation costs are often more. Companies like Talton Telecommunications, GTL, Securus Technologies, and IC Solutions may experience a surge in profits, as families have no other means to connect with loved ones.
Freedom for Immigrant’s co-founder and co-executive director Christina Fialho writes that we must hold these greedy corporations accountable.
“If ICE is truly serious about ensuring the health and well-being of people in its custody, the agency should release people from immigration detention, beginning with vulnerable populations. Short of that, ICE and its contractors should be offering free video visitation and free phone calls for all people in immigration detention, particularly during this global pandemic.”
Read Christina’s article here.
Get involved:
Yesterday, Freedom for Immigrants has launched the COVID-19 Detention Hotline. Information reported to the hotline will be collected and stored in an internal and secure database. Some of the information collected through the hotline will also be added to our interactive map on U.S. immigration detention so that we can publicly track and record ICE’s response to COVID-19, including medical neglect, abuses, and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in immigrant jails and prisons. Please click here to access our toolkit containing information, graphics and printable materials related to our COVID-19 hotline and help us spread the word!
Louisiana is reporting over 6,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Every day immigrants remain in ICE custody is a threat to their lives, particularly for 2 men over 130 days into a hunger strike at an ICE prison in Jena, LA. Call the ICE Field Director & demand she #FreeThemAll. Script is available here bit.ly/releasethemnow.