Graphic: Aija Suuta/AFSC
Love knows no borders, no walls
Dear John,
The United States wastes $80 billion annually locking people up. But warehousing 1.8 million in prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers has not made our communities safer.
We need new approaches that actually work to interrupt and prevent cycles of violence. Community-based re-entry programs, education, and essential services are much better at preventing harm.
We also know that those inside are disproportionately people of color and poor people. Human rights abuses are rampant. Conditions are often crowded. And the pandemic has multiplied the dangers of imprisonment exponentially. Government officials must take immediate steps to create healthier, safer communities for all.
Send a message to President Biden and officials at ICE and the Bureau of Prisons. Tell them to release as many people as possible. Ask them to allow released people to remain home in their communities. Urge them to expand vaccine access and take other steps to protect people from COVID-19.
We need public policies and investments that help build safer communities for everyone. Taking immediate steps to help stop the spread of COVID-19 is a vital part of that. This Valentine’s Day weekend, help us bring the transformative power of love to prisons, jails, and detention centers.
Urge public officials to protect people in prisons, jails, and detention centers from COVID-19.
In peace,
Lewis Webb Jr., Program Director, Healing Justice
Kristin Kumpf, Program Director, Human Migration and Mobility
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