John,

 

Since the creation of the first immigration prison in the US, communities across Texas have actively fought to shut down immigration jails that lock away loved ones, friends, children, parents. These immigration jails strip people of their dignity and lives and must be shut down for good. 

As I write, ICE is working to renew direct contracts with private prison company CCA (now known as CoreCivic) for three Texas immigration jails that will last for the next decade: T. Don Hutto in Taylor, the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall, and the Houston Processing Center. Texas already detains a quarter of all immigrants detained nationwide—we cannot allow for this to be our reality for the next decade.

From ending Williamson County’s contract for T. Don Hutto in June 2018 to our November rally bringing people from across the state together to call on Congress to make sure we don’t see more inhumanity for the next 10 years, we are envisioning a different reality.

Last month, more than 45 organizations across Texas delivered a letter to members of Congress urging them to investigate ICE’s attempt to evade procurement law and ignore community opposition to these contract extensions. And earlier this week, Representatives Castro and 9 other Texas representatives sent a letter to ICE asking for more information on the contract extension.

ICE isn't stopping, and this is where we need your help, John. 

Congress must take responsibility and do everything they can do stop the contracts from taking place, and they need to hear from you.

Fill out our form, and we will send a postcard on your behalf to your representatives and members of key committees with the power to intervene.

If you would like any physical copies of the postcard, let me know by replying to this email.

In solidarity,

Bethany Carson

Immigration Researcher and Organizer