Immigrant Advocates Rejoice at Shutting Down, Curtailing of Four ICE Facilities With History of Abuse and Unsafe Facilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 25, 2022

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Fernanda Durand | (214) 402-0186 | fernanda@communicationsshop.us

Immigrant Advocates Rejoice at Shutting Down, Curtailing of Four ICE Facilities With History of Abuse and Unsafe Facilities

Years of protests and demonstrations pay off for detained immigrants

WASHINGTON – Today, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced it would close a detention center in Alabama and curtail the use of other ICE detention centers with a history of abuse and longer than average stays.

ICE will shut down the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Ala., and cut back on the use of the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Fla., Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, La., and Alamance County Detention Facility in Graham, N.C. The actions came after several allegations of unsafe conditions of the detention centers and the maltreatment of detained immigrants, including complaints of medical negligence, overuse of toxic chemicals, racist abuse, and other chemical leaks that caused the hospitalization of multiple immigrant detainees.

The following statements are attributed to We Are Home coalition members.

“It’s a hopeful day for the tens of thousands of immigrants who are subjected to abusive treatment at these ICE facilities every day and some even for months or years for simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families,” said Bridgette Gomez, executive director for We Are Home, a coalition of immigrant rights advocates. “These actions resulted from the collective pressure of multiple immigrant advocates and civil rights groups for years on end, and fighting to establish a safe and humane immigration system in the U.S. We are proud of the relentless work that immigrant justice partners have made over the years to bring an end to this abuse by speaking up and never giving up.”

“It is difficult to put into words how monumental a win this is for the movement to end immigration detention in the US,” said Silky Shah, executive director for Detention Watch Network. “The Etowah County Detention Center exemplifies everything that is wrong with immigration detention and why the detention system must be abolished. The administration can and must do more to completely phase out the use of immigration detention by continuing to terminate contracts, shut down additional facilities and free people from detention.”

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We Are Home is a nationwide campaign fighting to ensure that “we the people” includes all of us. Our mission is to transform America’s inhumane immigration system. We must undo the damage of the last four years and build a new immigration system that is fair, humane, functional, and centered on racial justice, and respects all people, regardless of race, religion, or birthplace. And we must immediately enact legislation that creates a roadmap to citizenship for every immigrant who calls this country home. We Are Home is co-chaired by Community Change/Community Change Action; Service Employees International Union (SEIU); United Farm Workers (UFW), and United We Dream.