The following message is from The Resistance NW
Tacoma, WA – After eight days, the seventh hunger strike this year at the infamous Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), operated by the GEO group, the private corporation that controls NWDC and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is coming to an end.
The hunger strikers demanded to be transferred to detention centers near their families, or at worst, deported immediately. On July 28, the hunger strikers suffered physical and psychological abuse at the hands of GEO guards, disguised as a SWAT-like team known as CERT.
The Resistance received the testimony of one of the hunger strikers, a person who has been detained for 12 days. When he arrived at the NWDC, he was placed in the F1 unit. According to him, the conditions in F1 were absolutely deplorable, with only one window in the entire unit and pairs of detainees locked in cells of approximately 2.13 x 3.34 meters (7 x 11 ft.)
Unit F1 also reflects the cruelty used against detainees at NWDC, with Level 1 reserved for people with medical problems. Level 2 is used for people in “segregation” – a euphemism for solitary confinement – who are a “danger to others”. However, in reality, solitary confinement is used in NWDC to target hunger strikers and others who criticize treatment in detention. In addition, NWDC uses solitary confinement for much longer periods than other ICE detention centers, as illustrated by the death of Charles Leo Daniel earlier this year after a 4-year period in solitary confinement in the unit.
According to testimony received by La Resistencia, the seventh hunger strike came to an end because of the reprisals that GEO officers used against the strikers. Today we received a phone call telling us that the hunger strike has ended for fear of reprisals from GEO, because people are segregated and have relived their traumas and feel that they are going to die there. None of them wants to be segregated and that’s why it all ended. ” said Vilma Arias – Leader of LaResistencia.
The Resistance demands that the Washington State delegation to Congress step in and ensure that ICE and GEO do not retaliate against the strikers, comply with the strikers’ demands, end the practice of chemical agent use and violence against people detained at the NWDC, and that elected officials visit the NWDC. themselves, to talk to the strikers themselves.
La Resistencia is a grassroots organization in Washington state led by undocumented people who stand in solidarity with detainees at the Northwest Detention Center and fight for the closure of facilities and an end to all detentions and deportations.
La Resistencia621 Tacoma Ave S Suite 504Tacoma, WA 98402
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