TACOMA, WA — Eighty women caged at the Northwest Detention Center are on a hunger strike over conditions. “We came here fleeing from our countries so we could be heard and to ask for help. We are not criminals, but we have been forgotten here. Many women here have had their court dates postponed [for months.] The food is terrible and we women are given old and used underwear. One officer asked us why we are not eating, telling us there is no one outside supporting us so our efforts are in vain, but we will continue, ” said a prisoner. Supporters continue an outside encampment, organizing rallies and receiving constant updates from people detained inside.
The strike comes as the Trump administration awards a $110 million contract to GEO Group, a private corporation that builds immigrant prisons that profit off the misery of our brothers and sisters worldwide.
Excerpted from NWDC Resistance. Contact Maru Mora Villalpando, www.latinoadvocacy.org/ for more information.