A Kurdish hunger striker tells his story

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BREAKING: DHS Loses Bid to Dodge Blame for Dangerous Conditions at Adelanto

In an update from the past few weeks on the ongoing litigation from Adelanto prisoners and their advocates, a ninth circuit court panel of judges denied an emergency stay the gov’t tried to file in order to get out of improving the horrific conditions at the ICE prison in San Bernardino county CA. The Trump administration has been trying to punt the blame to the GEO Group, the private prison contractor that runs Adelanto, where videos from prisoners about worms and parasites in the drinking water, lack of nutritious food and access to medical care, and other severe human rights violations have still not stopped despite multiple lawsuits that have been ruled in favor of the prisoners.

This judge panel ruled that despite contracting the running of Adelanto to the GEO Group, the administration was not off the hook for the conditions inside the prison when prisoner’s constitutional rights were being violated. The panel also made the point that the gov’t made no arguments to dispute the claims from the prisoners, it just argued that they weren’t obligated to pay for them. The underlying case will proceed with opening briefs scheduled for September 17th.

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Wu describes plan to watch over ICE's Boston parking space search

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, herself a daughter of immigrants, has taken a strong stand against militarized ICE intimidation and harassment in her city. As ICE tactics have shifted from broad sweeps of workplaces and worker sites to courtrooms, more and more ICE vehicles need to be parked in downtown urban areas. Like many cities, Boston has a shortage of downtown spaces. So when ICE announced last month that it was looking to lease 250 spaces, naturally everyone wondered who had that many spaces to lease to non-residents. Since the spaces are on private property, Mayor Wu plans to use public records requests as a tactic to identify private property owners who are collaborating. The city will be pointing out to these owners how collaborating with ICE endangers them and their communities. The city has no authority to compel private behavior, and so will rely on peoples’ sense of shared responsibility for shared safety. And if you happen to be a Boston resident or commuter you could let your opinion be known, too.

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Kurdish hunger striker says ICE force-feeding ‘mentally broke me’ | US immigration | The Guardian

A truly disturbing trilogy of articles by the Guardian documents the use of torture in ICE detention centers. Often referred to as an “involuntary medical procedure,” multiple experts say that the use of force-feeding, a practice carried out on hunger strikers, is essentially torture--especially the way guards and medical practitioners in ICE facilities carry it out.

The Guardian articles focus on Gabar Choli, a Kurdish filmmaker who was taken by ICE while his claim for political asylum in the US was still pending. Choli went on hunger strike to protest the inhumane conditions he witnessed in ICE detention. Choli told the Guardian, “I understood the necessity of making a stand for what was right… I was respectful. I just told them I am protesting for humane treatment, nothing else. But they were determined to break me.”

Among other violent physical abuse, Choli described having the feeding tube shoved into his nose so hard it tore the flesh inside, and after a forced feeding session being left to choke on his own blood. This treatment continued for at least eight months, until Choli was deported to Canada.

The Guardian reports that at least 18 people have likely been subjected to this retaliatory, torturous treatment in response to a last-ditch protest on behalf of their own dignity and safety.
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Atlanta offers a model for building sanctuary • Waging Nonviolence

In these difficult times our collective hopes lie in solidarity and organizing. In Atlanta, where Georgia has gone from being a sanctuary-affirming to a sanctuary-denying state, organizers are working to create “sanctuary zones”: spaces that commit to keeping communities safe by refusing to cooperate with ICE or other law enforcement agencies that criminalize, detain and separate people from their families. These zones demonstrate community commitment to caring for their staff, patrons and neighbors

Mobilizing organizations and neighborhoods across the Atlanta metro area, 15 Black, queer and/or immigrant-led groups have come together to create the ATL Get Ready Team.
This team leads trainings,workshops,and canvases around the city, with the shared goal of pushing back against the criminalization of immigrants, young people, people of color, and trans people. Together, they planned for the ICE crackdown that accompanied the World Cup games in the city.

Sanctuary Zones bring people together to resist the cruel regime of ICE terror. They offer seasoned organizers and those who have not been involved a chance to create real public safety instead of enhanced policing and incarceration.

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The Cost of Deportations Calculator | Economic Policy Institute
As we at NAA center the people and the ethical effects of the war on immigrants, we believe it’s important to keep in mind that these policies are not inevitable. They are choices. A government that can find $182 billion for ICE can find money to alleviate human suffering and repair our world. As Jews head into the Rosh Hashanah season, we are called on to examine our choices and their impacts. This calculator is a handy way to see what choices have been made in our names, and what they have cost.
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Action items:
https://www.standwithminnesota.com/skymiles

Our friends at DWN have shared this tool to write to members of Congress to stop an extremely concerning detention expansion in Louisiana https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-no-detention-expansion-in-alexandria-louisiana

Support a Haitian family separated by deportation: Support Jean Family

Defense fund for Minneapolis Anti-ICE Organizers

Support the Prairieland Defendants being persecuted by the DOJ for standing up for their neighbors in detention

Never Again Action