Nearly 90 families are still locked up: Here’s our plan.

Dear John,

This week's report of a whistleblower alleging that detained women in Georgia
were subject to unwanted hysterectomies without their full consent is deeply
alarming. The whistleblower also claims that ICE knowingly has put detained
people in danger of contracting COVID-19.

Amnesty has been tirelessly advocating on behalf of people unjustly detained by
ICE. We are actively demanding that Congress and the DHS urgently investigate these
allegations of forced sterilization, and that ICE free people in immigration
detention.

Tens of thousands of people are locked up in conditions that are inherently
abusive, including nearly 90 families, in detention facilities. With your
support, we can demand a thorough investigation into these allegations and
ensure that people and families in detention are freed.

But we urgently need your help. Please read our message below and take action
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donation to support our critical work, you can make an emergency gift here.
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Dear John,

After years of domestic abuse and threats, Marilin* made the dangerous trek from
Honduras to the U.S. with her eleven-year-old Yunior*, seeking safety.

But instead of being granted asylum, she and her son were locked behind bars by
ICE… and have now spent one full year detained in Dilley, Texas — a ghastly anniversary. Marilin suffers from ovarian cysts but has yet to receive medical care, and is
in so much pain she cannot wear the pants that ICE has issued to her.

This is not an unusual story — Marilin and her son are among nearly 90 families still held unlawfully in ICE detention centers. Despite the rampant spread of
COVID-19 in these facilities, children and their parents are still held behind
bars.

Before our petition delivery in October, tell the new ICE Director, Tony Pham:
#FreeTheFamilies. Release these children together WITH their parents.
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The next few weeks are crucial: due to the action from people like you, the
Trump administration is facing increasing legal and popular pressure to do the
right thing and free these families together. But, perversely, they’d rather consider releasing the children, but keep their
parents detained — which would be a human rights nightmare, as well as an unimaginable tragedy
for every child and parent involved.

That’s why, this week, we’re planning a HUGE surge in our campaign to free
families: our members, organizers, and staff will be delivering thousands of messages to ICE leadership and others in Washington... inundating their phone lines ...and launching billboards and mobile truck ads near all three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania as well as
right outside the homes of Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting ICE
Director Tony Pham, and all across Washington D.C.

We MUST kick this surge off by sending a loud-and-clear message to ICE
leadership they simply cannot ignore. Hundreds of people, including Marilin and
her son, are counting on us — sitting back and doing nothing is simply not an
option. They’ve spent holidays — from birthdays to New Year’s and Mother’s Day — behind
detention walls. They have now faced an anniversary no parent would want: one year of being
locked up, simply for seeking safety here in the United States.

Will you join in sending a message to ICE, demanding they #FreeTheFamilies now?
We need 10,000 signatures today before delivering these messages.
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John — we have a responsibility to keep fighting
for Marilin and Yunior — and all other families in detention — until they are
free. These families have communities waiting to welcome them, and there is no
reason, especially during a pandemic, not to release children with their parents.

Thank you for your continued action and support. We’ll keep you updated in the
coming weeks on how our efforts are contributing to measurable change for these
families and others.

Sincerely,


Billie Hirsch

Director of Online Engagement
Amnesty International USA

P.S. We’re mobilizing quickly to get billboards up outside the family detention
centers and ICE offices in Texas and Pennsylvania as well as driving
mobile-truck ads through D.C. and Virginia, including outside the homes of
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting ICE Director Tony Pham. Want to
support our efforts? Make a special donation now.
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DONATE NOW
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