Suffolk County House of Corrections Detainees On Hunger Strike for Better and Safer Conditions
On Thursday, September 26, immigrant detainees being held at South Bay Jail in Boston, Massachusetts announced a public campaign to fight inhumane treatment inside the jail. Detainees cited food safety issues and denial of access to standard services, as just some of the conditions which they are forced to endure. After attempts to raise their concerns to prison officials proved unsuccessful, on Thursday, October 3, over 200 detainees at South Bay initiated a hunger strike.
Sign the petition to show your solidarity with the detainees and join them in insisting that their demands be met.
Support for South Bay Hunger Strike
To: Tina Guarna Armstrong, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Boston Field Office; Steven Tompkins, Suffolk County Sheriff; Todd Thurlow, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Boston Field Office; Eugene Sumpter, Jr, Suffolk County Special Sheriff / Superintendent
I am writing in support of the 200 immigrants detained at the Suffolk County House of Corrections in Boston, Massachusetts who initiated a hunger strike on Thursday, October 3rd. The immigrant detainees are protesting against substandard and unsanitary conditions at the detention center, and asking for a meeting with Sheriff Tompkins, and a representative from both the ACLU and Prisoner Legal Services, to address the following concerns:
- Improve food safety: Trays, dishes, and utensils are poorly cleaned. Many detainees have recently been diagnosed with stomach ulcers caused by infection with the H. pylori bacterium. They believe this infection is being spread by poor sanitation.
- Equal access to programs and services: Immigrants held in ICE detention do not have access to the prison’s law library. The need for access is crucial, as there is no right to an attorney or public defender in immigration court. In addition, ICE detainees are currently required to spend most of their days locked in their cells often with the lights turned off, and only have one television in the recreation area. These inhumane conditions foster interpersonal conflicts as well as depression.
- Support visitation rights: Immigrants held at Suffolk are often transferred to facilities far from their families, making visitation prohibitive. The process to have family and friends visit is bureaucratic and difficult. A detainee has a short timeline to meet with visitors to help him out of detention and stop any pending deportation. Visitation and communication must be better facilitated.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement states that there are standards that detention centers in agreements with the agency need to uphold, including health and safety codes for food service facilities, the right of detainees to have “opportunities to participate in leisure-time activities outside their respective cells or rooms.”
As friends, family members and neighbors of immigrants detained in your jail, we ask that you address these concerns immediately and collaboratively with the hunger strikers who are courageously standing up for dignified conditions and fair treatment.
Thank you,