All posts tagged white house hunger strike
What: Press Conference Supporting Federal Legislation to Address Hunger Striker Demands
Where: Mickey Leland Federal Building, 1919 Smith Street, Houston, TX, 77002
When: 4:00pm, Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Who: Ernestina Hernandez, Melanny Martinez, Alianza Mexicana and supporters
Manuel Martinez' family continues their fight to bring him back after he was forcefully deported for participating in a hunger strike at Joe Corley Detention Facility. Since his deportation, Manuel's wife and daughter have testified in Congressional briefings and participated in White House protests in Washington DC. They are holding ICE accountable for the abuse against Manuel and his fellow detained immigrants during the hunger strike, including verbal and physical violence, prolonged solitary confinement, and forced deportations. Read more
What would you do if your Dad never came back home?
Dear Sasha Obama,
My name is Melanny Martinez. I am thirteen years old and I am currently in the seventh grade at a Catholic private school in Texas. I know you go to private school too and you must understand how hard they can be sometimes. I wanted to write you a letter because I believe you could understand what I am going through. This might be a little odd and I don’t know if you will ever get to read this, but I thought it was worth a try. Read more
What: Press Conference preceding Congressional Briefing
When: 1:10pm Friday, April 18th, 2014
Where: Rayburn 2103, Washington, DC
Who: Catalina Nieto, Detention Watch Network, Ernestina Hernandez who’s husband Manuel was deported from the Joe Corley Detention Center, Marisa Franco, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Maru Mora Villalpando of Latino Advocacy in Seattle, Drm Action Coalition
“My dad is my hero and I’ll do whatever I have to so he can be home again,” explains Melanie Martinez, age 13, when asked why she and her mother came to Washington, DC as part of the on-going presence outside the White House.
Her mother, Ernestina Hernandez, who will speak today, traveled from Houston, TX to the White House after ICE deported her husband, Manuel Martinez, in retaliation for a hunger strike he participated in at the Joe Corley Detention Center where he had been held.
In recent months, such centers have been roiled by efforts (In Tacoma, WA, Eloy, AZ, Conroe, TX) of those inside to expose the mistreatment, subpar conditions, and the cost-cutting by the private companies who run them as part of the campaign to urge the President to stop deportations and expand relief. An additional hunger strike just became public at an El Paso, TX facility. And just yesterday, 19 people were arrested in civil disobedience at the Suffolk detention center in Boston that is currently embroiled in lawsuits stemming from a previous hunger strike by detainees there.
Preceding a 2:00pm Congressional briefing, representatives of the Texas and Washington state hunger strike and those who started an on-going presence at the White House on April 5th will host a press conference with the Detention Watch Network exposing the conditions inside the Detention Centers and urging DHS and ICE to address hunger strikers demands.
After the Press Conference, participants will hold a Congressional staffer briefing on Detention Center policies, conditions, and resistance. More information on the on-going presence outside the White House available at http://bit.ly/whstrike
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