Dear John,
Thousands of people are about to spend the holiday season in ICE detention centers. What does that feel like? It’s a mix of despair, outrage, powerlessness, fear, and vulnerability.
I know, because I spent nearly three years in ICE “detention” in deplorable and inhumane conditions. When I was finally freed this July, after more than 1,000 days behind bars, it was thanks to persistent help from organizations like Amnesty International and others — and the 80,000 emails, letters, and calls from people like you.
Amnesty tells me that a group of donors will match every gift made in December. Can you donate to support Amnesty’s vital work to free people in ICE detention and protect human rights? This month, your impact will go 2X as far.
I escaped Honduras when I was twelve-years-old, after experiencing threats against my life because of my identity as transgender. When I reached the U.S., I was looking for safety. But that is not what I received. Instead, U.S. immigration authorities detained me.
My requests for humanitarian parole were denied, and I was initially locked in solitary confinement solely because of my gender identity. I spent three birthdays behind bars. And John, the medical negligence in the facilities was astonishing. I have no words to describe to you how terrifying it was being detained during the COVID-19 outbreak, and watching others fall sick from it without adequate medical attention.
If not for the pressure from Amnesty, the Translatin@ Coalition, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and other important groups, I would probably still be in detention. There was no other reason, like a court order, that made authorities release me.
But now, I’m free because activists like you exposed what I was going through, and raised your voices to the media, lawmakers, and ICE leadership. I’m free because you refused to give up.
This holiday season, let’s all take action to help free refugees and asylum-seekers like me. Make a donation to help Amnesty continue this work — and a generous donor will double your gift.
I trust that Amnesty will be continuing to expose the inhumane treatment of all those in ICE detention — and I know they will be working tirelessly until every last individual, child, and family are free. That’s why your support is so important.
Thank you for never giving up hope, and for demanding an end to these grave human rights abuses.
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