Detainees in Immigration Centers Refuse Food, Demand Freedom

Nov 26, 2015
11:02 AM

Today the Not One More Deportation page reported that “more than 100 men fleeing political violence and danger in their home countries who have been in detention for up to two years announced their rejection of meals and demand for their freedom.”

The page also posted the following letter from one of the detainees:

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It also shared this about another detainee:

Shahidul Islam, one of the hunger strikers in Theo Lacy Facility escaped Bangladesh after people affiliated with the ruling Awawi League threatened him and his father at gunpoint. The incident caused Shahidul’s father to have a fatal stroke on the spot. Before the confrontation, Shahidul had been arrested multiple times for his participation in the Bangladesh National Party, a mainstream opposition party in his home country.

The post also shared this: “In multiple cases, detainees continue to be held despite either passing their credible fear for asylum or their consulates refusing to issue their travel documents for removal.”

According to the page, the detainees are calling for the following:

The detainees in Theo Lacey, Otay, and Etowah Detention Centers issued the following demands:
1. End to all detentions and deportations
2. End to the ICE detention bed quotas
3. End to indefinite detention: Release on Parole or Supervision for all asylum seekers held for more than 6 months
4. Improved conditions in detention (discipline, food, clothing, access to phones, medical access)

Organizers amplifying the detainees’s actions are tweeting today from #ThanksgivingWithIce and #FreedomGiving:

Meanwhile, back at the White House: