We take you inside immigration jail
In a new video, OIA’s Lynn Tramonte talks about people helping people inside immigration jail, and the way those of us on the outside can get involved:
People really do take care of each other inside immigration jail. And it's also an example of their character and the fact that they shouldn't be in jail. They shouldn't be deported. They shouldn't be facing these extreme actions, government actions for wanting to do the right thing, trying to take care of themselves, trying to take care of their families, trying to be a good citizen.
Somebody just said to me recently, "We need to redefine what ‘citizen’ means because it's not where you were born, it's how you act and what you do." So I just thought that was pretty profound. And I'm grateful to all the donors who have been donating to our commissary fund since the Trump administration first time. And let's keep it up because it really does give people a little bit of dignity and a little bit of comfort in a really cold and uncaring system.
Mustapha Komeh, an Ohio father who was deported during the first Trump administration, talks about his experience inside the Morrow and Butler County Jails in an interview on SoundCloud (part 1, part 2). Watch a video of excerpts here.
Talking about how the commissary is used to make more money off of people who are incarcerated, Mustapha said: “They're making serious money and people, they have to sponsor their family in order for them not to die or being unhealthy or sick in there because they really don't care. So this is the conditions they hold people in there. It is not about really to ship you out the country or any other thing else because they just make money. That's all, it's all about money, not even any other thing else.”
Participating in this process is a necessary evil, because there are real people in those jail cells and they deserve to eat real food, buy warm clothing, and be able to call their loved ones and lawyers when they need to. But at the end of it all, we see that immigration jail is about profit and money motivations, not what is best for communities or society. And that is why the entire system needs to be dismantled.
Resources
Donate to the Detained Immigrants Commissary Fund
Read our report about organizing to end ICE jail in Ohio
Watch Mustapha’s video, listen to his full interview on SoundCloud (part 1, part 2), and read a transcript.
Watch Lynn’s video and read a transcript.
