Prisoners and undocumented immigrants held in detention centers are going on strike across the U.S. 62 people were striking at Takoma, Washington’s Northwest Detention Center, as of Friday, according to activists. On Saturday, a rally held near the center demanded that staff stop what they call retaliation against those held there.
The demonstrations started on 21 August and are set to continue until at least 9 September in prisons in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, New Mexico, Texas, South Carolina, California, India, and Florida, the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee says. Several immigrants and other individuals incarcerated have refused to work, with some even refusing to eat. They have made many nationwide demands, including improved prison conditions, the rescinding of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which critics argue makes it harder for those in detention to be their own advocates, more rehabilitation services funding, and paying prisoners their state’s prevailing wage.
Last month, before the start of the strikes, a statement of solidarity with those placed into detention by Immigration and Customs of Enforcement was released by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, one of the protests’ organizers.
The nation’s biggest private prison company, the GEO Group, operates the Northwest Detention Center, and have been hit with several different lawsuits alleging forced detainee labor at such facilities. Likewise, a class action lawsuit brought against private prison firm, CoreCivic in April alleged that they threatened detainees with deprivation of privacy and solitary confinement for refusing to work.