ICE agents under Trump have operated unchecked. Agents are detaining immigrants outside schools, churches, hospitals, and courthouses -- "sensitive" locations where they're not supposed to operate.
My fellow Americans are suffering grave injustices because of their nationality and/or ethnicity. This goes against everything America once stood for.
Recently, a Congressional delegation visited detentions centers on our southern border and exposed some of the egregious conditions migrants and asylum seekers are being forced to endure in these facilities - overcrowding, sleeping on concrete floors, not enough food or water or soap. The detainees were not given access to showers for weeks and almost all had been separated from their families.
Photos and interviews with migrants in the facilities have brought to light the dehumanizing conditions that are so much worse than previously thought. One woman even reported that they were told to drink from the toilet bowls if they needed water.
Detractors will say that Congress just passed a $4.6 billion package to send aid to the border but that bill included zero accountability measures for facilities that abuse children and families. And accountability is what we need most. There have been countless reports of CBP and ICE agents abusing their power and migrants in the detention centers report experiencing open hostility from those watching over them.
The overcrowding at these facilities only stands to worsen as ICE has begun deploying mass deportation raids around the country - spreading fear and panic among one of our most vulnerable communities.
Our current immigration regime is based on cruelty and racism. We demand a system based on compassion and justice. We must create a better, more humane process for welcoming immigrants into our country. There is so much that needs to change before that happens but there is a clear first step we can take - increase accountability for agencies that deal with migrants and abolish the militant police force that is ICE.
Sign the petition to Abolish ICE and end the cruelty of mass deportations!
