By now, you may have heard of Dawn Wooten, the whistleblower who bravely exposed the atrocities of medical malpractices affecting immigrants detained in the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC), privately owned and operated by LaSalle Corrections. We know that you are as outraged as we are about the awful conditions under which detained immigrants are living and ICDC staff are working, the complete neglect of COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and forced hysterectomies conducted on immigrant women.
This is not an isolated instance. The United States has a long and dark history of eugenics. This country has systematically experimented on and sterilized Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) without their consent. The perpetrators of these human rights violations have largely gone unpunished. This is also part of a broader pattern of violence by jails, prisons and detention centers on Black, Brown, and Indigenous bodies. We see time and time again how broken these systems are and know that no amount of reform will fix them. It is time to STOP separating families, STOP putting people in cages, and STOP trying to control our bodies.
Immigrant Justice is Racial Justice is Reproductive Justice.
Without one, we can not achieve the others.
This is why AMPLIFY and Reproductive Justice organizations across Georgia are standing in solidarity with Project South, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Georgia Detention Watch, and so many others who are calling for the immediate closure of ICDC and the abolition of ICE.
We want to let you know that, without a doubt, we will be demanding justice for detained immigrants and the staff who have suffered from these criminal actions. Forced pregnancy and forced sterilization are two sides of the same coin. Both are rooted in white supremacy and the desire to control Black, Brown, and Indigenous bodies. We condemn ICE’s inhumane treatment of immigrants and cannot allow ICE detention centers to exist.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- Sign this petition to demand the Irwin County Commissioners terminate the contract with LaSalle Corrections and shut down Irwin County Detention Center.
- Organize ICE-Free Zones with GLAHR’s Guide to stop ICE from detaining people & filling private detention centers for profit.
- Follow the leaders of this initiative:
- Contact your local elected officials with URGE’s Phone2Action Campaign. We highly recommend personalizing the email to ensure your message’s visibility.
- Sign on to this statement drafted by local RJ organizations stating that you will rise up against forced sterilization and ICE.
- Post the below image on your social media, write a caption that connects this situation to your frontline, and tag your congresspeople. Use the hashtags #ShutDownIrwin and #ShutDownICDC.
- Spread the word on social media using the hashtags #ShutDownIrwin and #ShutDownICDC. So many people are unaware of what forced sterilization is and why we need to act. Here is a great infographic to share by femislay on Instagram about the history of forced sterilization.
Join us TOMORROW, September 18th at 12:00pm at the Believe Women, Shut Down Irwin rally in front of the ICE Atlanta Field Office located at 180 Ted Turner Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. Don’t forget your masks and signs!