How to Protest Human Rights Abuses in US Detention Centers

Many of us experience some combination of despair, outrage, and shock at reports of conditions on the US southern border. It is horrifying to learn that our government is separating children from their families, stuffing people in overcrowded detention cells, and denying refugees access to basic necessities such as food, soap and clean clothes. If you are asking yourself what you can do to protest the inhuman treatment of individuals and families seeking asylum in the United States, here are some actions you can take right now.

Call your representatives

If you want your voice to be heard, 5Calls.org is a great resource. After you enter your location, 5 Calls will tell you who to contact, how to contact them (you can dial the number directly through the 5 Calls website or app) and what to say.

Here’s one of the scenarios I used to call my reps :

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I am a representative of Cedar Rapids.

I am outraged and shocked by reports of ill-treatment of immigrant detainees, from crowds to the denial of necessary medical care to children. I urge Senator Chuck Grassley to demand a thorough investigation of immigration practices and conditions of detention, deny additional funding to ICE, and provide the immigration courts with adequate funding to ensure that asylum applications are processed in a timely manner.

Thanks for your time and attention.

WHEN YOU LEAVE VOICE MAIL: Please leave your full address so that your call will be counted.

share information

Use social media and similar tools to spread awareness of abuses in border detention centers. You can share these reports from reputable sources:

Texas Monthly Magazine: El Paso Border Patrol Traps Migrants at Dog Pen

[New Mexico State University professor Neil Rosendorf] described it as a “human dog pound” – 100 to 150 people behind a wire mesh fence, hiding under makeshift shelters made of mylar blankets and any other scraps they could find to protect yourself from the warmth of the sun. “I was able to talk to the detainees and photograph them with their permission,” Rosendorf said in an email. “They told me that they had been detained on the street for a month, that they had not washed and could not change the clothes that they had been detained during that time, and that, in general, they were poorly fed and treated.”

The Nation: What I Saw At The Immigrant Detention Center In Dilly, Texas

The agents in wet clothes take them first to the ” healer” , ” freezer “, to the refrigerated building, to the large processing center, where they had to try to sleep on the concrete floor or sit on concrete benches under the mylar. the blankets that the agents wiped all night and day deliberately kept him awake. Bathroom breaks are often not provided or at the wrong time, which is why both women and children often get themselves dirty.

The jail-like imprisonment was an attempt to convince these immigrants to turn back before they even got to the cause of compelling fears with an asylum officer. It was also a message to those who were still trying to cross the border.

Office of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (OIG) Warning: DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding of Single Adults in El Paso del Norte Data Center

During the week of May 6, 2019, we visited five border patrols and two ports of entry in the El Paso area, including El Paso and eastern New Mexico, as part of our unannounced checks of CBP detention facilities. We have reviewed compliance with the CBP Transport, Escort, Detention and Inspection (TEDS) 1 standards that govern CBP’s interactions with detainees, and observed hazardous conditions at the El Paso del Norte Border Patrol (PDT) processing point located on site Paso del Norte Bridge requiring immediate attention.

Yes, this last link is an official government document detailing the conditions on the Federal Border Patrol. It includes photographs of overcrowded cells (with prisoners literally carts), as well as evidence that personal belongings and other belongings are taken from people and thrown into garbage containers.

Answer people who say the term “concentration camp” is the wrong term.

Inform them that George Takei, who spent time in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, considers these facilities to be concentration camps.

Like Mike Godwin, creator of Godwin’s Law (“As the online discussion gets longer, the likelihood of comparisons involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1”). This time, he thinks the comparison is correct:

Like Anna Lind-Guzik, I am a Jewish historian in my Vox article . Yes, we should call border detention centers “concentration camps”.

The application of the term “concentration camp” to indefinite detention without trial and investigation of thousands of civilians in inhuman conditions – under armed guard and without proper conditions or medical assistance – is not only appropriate, it is necessary. The use of this word does not detract from the memory of the Holocaust. On the contrary, the lessons of the Holocaust will be lost if we abandon their use.

If that doesn’t get you anywhere, try to switch the conversation to what is happening in the camps, rather than what we should call them. To quote Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

Donate to RAICES

RAICES is a not-for-profit agency that promotes equity by providing free and low-cost legal services to children, families and underserved immigrant refugees. The organization is actively working to help people, especially children detained at the US border.

Here’s what RAICES says about the detention centers :

Right now in McAllen, Texas, hundreds of migrants are locked up in disaster relief camps the day after the earthquake. Families are crowded together, pots and mylar blankets are scattered in industrial wastelands. Housekeeping appears to be lacking and families are forced to wait outside during the day due to the sweltering heat (89 Fahrenheit / 32 Celsius).

If that’s not enough, a two-year-old boy from Guatemala died this week after being “detained” at the border by armed security forces. This is the fourth child to have died in government institutions in the past 6 months.

Immigrant conditions and abuse are unprecedented.

This article was posted on May 16th. Since then, at least one other child has died in government custody .

Participate in marches, rallies and organized protests.

At the time of this writing, there is no nationwide campaign against atrocities committed in US detention centers. However, future marches and protests seem likely, whether organized locally or coordinated nationally.

Keep track of organized protests and take time to participate. We have a guide to help you protest safely and legally , as well as a student guide on strikes and protests for high school students who want to know their rights.

Finally, don’t let this story disappear from the news loop. Keep calling your representatives, keep sharing news from authoritative sources, attend protests if possible, and start getting to know your local, state and federal elected officials and their positions on these critical human rights issues. That way, when the time comes to vote to keep them in office, you will know what to do.