Pressroom

Tacoma, Washington — Today, more than 100 people detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) entered their fourth day on hunger strike from inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility operated by GEO Group. This is the 13th hunger strike to occur this year alone (see list of hunger strikes below) that immigrant rights’ advocates are aware of in over nine states, indicating the rising use of hunger strikes as a protest tactic to denounce immigration detention.

Sacramento, CA — Today, after years of sustained local activism led by immigrant rights groups, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed groundbreaking legislation that will ban the use of private immigrant jails in California starting in the New Year, eventually entirely phasing out their use in the state. On the heels of HB2040 in Illinois, California’s AB32 builds momentum towards dismantling the profit motives that are deeply intertwined with mass incarceration and immigration detention.

San Diego, CA — Detention Watch Network and Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice are demanding an immediate investigation and public release of the findings related to the death of 37-year-old man from Cameroon in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Buzzfeed reported the man died after being detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center (Otay) in San Diego. 

Washington, DC — During a briefing with members of Congress, the National Immigrant Justice Center, Detention Watch Network, Freedom for Immigrants, and the American Civil Liberties Union  called for routine visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jails in their districts and states. The coalition of organizations is calling this effort the “Eyes on ICE Detention Oversight Initiative,” and will be working with members of Congress to follow their visits with concrete actions to improve oversight and accountability of immigration detention centers.