From the #ShutDownBerks Coalition (https://www.facebook.com/ShutDownBerksCoalition/):
Last week we updated supporters about all families being released from the Berks County Detention Center. As excited as we were for those families, we remained cautious and vigilant because we are all too familiar with ICE’s tactics. Sadly, we were proven right. We have come to learn that ICE and the Berks County Commissioners are making moves to use the facility as a women’s prison.
That is why we are asking you to email the Biden administration today and demand that they shut down not just Berks, but also the Karnes and Dilley family prisons for good. We will not accept that these facilities continue to be used by ICE or DHS for any purpose, using any name. The government can call it a “processing hub” or any other term they come up with, but we know it will just be more detention and abuse if it’s run by ICE. We also know, that as long as ICE operates the facility, it can always be reverted back into a family prison, like we saw happen at Karnes.
Whether children, families, individual women or individual men, our communities should not be in cages for any amount of time. We fight for freedom for all!
Sample Email
White House: president@whitehouse.gov, esther.m.olavarria@who.eop.gov, tyler.t.moran@who.eop.gov
Secretary of DHS: alejandro.mayorkas@dhs.gov
Honorable President Biden,
Honorable Vice President Harris,
Honorable DHS Secretary Mayorkas,
I am writing to say that the Berks County, Karnes and Dilley Detention Centers should no longer be utilized by ICE, whether it be for families, children, individual women, or individual men. No one should be detained at these facilities for any length of time. Regardless of what name you use, it is clear that as long as ICE is using it, it will still be detention and it will be abusive.
Years and years of documented abuse have occurred for those under the custody of ICE. Dozens of people, including children, have died in their custody. They never have and never will be equipped to respect human dignity, and we will never trust their false promises. Our communities should not be in cages, and DHS must end their contracts with these facilities permanently.
Sincerely,
Your name
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