A group of 10 Indian detainees have begun a hunger strike at Northwest Detention Center, demanding their release after being transferred to the border under inhumane conditions.
Tacoma, WA– Nine people at the infamous Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) began a hunger strike on Thursday, November 21, 2024 demanding their freedom after experiencing prolonged detention and being transported across the country for nearly a month for false deportation. There are two other people on 24-hour suicide watch, and one of them was on his 13th day of a separate hunger strike.
Last week, nine people of Indian origin were transported to the border for deportation under inhumane conditions. However, the group was returned to Tacoma, Washington as a result of ICE’s (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) lack of official return documents, contradicting assurances that the agency had a clear process for repatriating the individuals. The nine individuals had been awaiting deportation for a year when ICE woke them up in the middle of the night, chained them up, and made them board a plane headed to El Paso.
The Resistance received reports that the individuals were taken from the NWDC in Tacoma, Washington, to Texas, Louisiana, and then to Arizona, before finally being taken back to the NWDC. Individuals were shackled at the hands, waist, and ankles for more than 12 hours and transported by plane and buses without being able to use the bathroom. “The conditions on the bus from Florence, Arizona to the Phoenix airport were like a sewer, from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. It was like a sewer from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. It was the worst smell I’ve ever smelled. It was the worst smell I have ever smelled in my life,” one person reported. Another person shared that the agencies that transported them did not provide them with anything to protect them from the cold.
After that traumatic experience, the nine people were transported back to the NWDC and were separated without explanation. The Resistance received reports yesterday morning that retaliation in the form of segregation is escalating against individuals for participating in a hunger strike in violation of ICE’s own rules.
“If you can’t deport us, release us. All our families are in the U.S.,” shared one of the strikers as he and the others explained that the fake deportation was a burden on their families who traveled to India and waited for no reason, and pointed out that it was also a waste of resources for the U.S. government.
The Resistance supports the demands of the strikers and calls on the Congressional delegation to intervene and ensure that ICE and GEO do not retaliate against the strikers, end the practice of using solitary confinement and violence against people detained at NWDC.
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La Resistencia is a grassroots political organization in Washington state led by undocumented people, fighting in solidarity with detainees at Northwest Detention Center to permanently close the prison and end all deportation and detention.
The Resistance
621 Tacoma Ave S Suite 504
Tacoma, WA 98402
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