John -- ICE detention centers are on the verge of becoming coronavirus superspreaders. Hundreds of people have tested positive. There are reports of soap shortages. Social distancing is a pipe dream.
Last week, two ICE guards died from COVID-19. In overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, it's only a matter of days before detention centers become graveyards. Detention centers aren't designed to keep people healthy -- they are designed to keep families apart.
These people have loved ones waiting for them. They are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles.
There's no way ICE can stop COVID-19 from spreading like wildfire in their jails -- which also puts surrounding communities at risk. It's urgent that the government release and reunite families immediately -- the alternative is potentially thousands of deaths inside detention centers and beyond.
Add your name right now, and DEMAND that ICE release and reunite families, before more people lose their loved ones.
Detainees tell us they're forced to use toothpaste to wash their hands. One was threatened with solitary confinement for making a face mask. The cruelty is unspeakable, intentional, and will cost lives.
It's not who we should be as a nation. We must double down on our values of compassion, care, and empathy. We should come together and stand shoulder-to-shoulder to confront this virus that threatens us all.
But of the roughly 34,000 people in ICE custody, ICE is refusing to consider releasing the vast majority of families in detention. ICE has the life-or-death power to release detainees, and they're barely budging.
Now is not the time for ideology -- it's time for humanity. For compassion. For care.
We need to raise insurmountable pressure, and force their hand. Please add your name today, and tell ICE to release and reunite families from detention -- before it's too late.
Thanks for all you do,
Paola Luisi, Co-Director
Families Belong Together
Families Belong Together is a campaign of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). NDWA is the nation's leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. If you would like to get in touch with Families Belong Together, click here.
