A Day of Action to Stop ICE’s Deadly Detentions

"Right now, facilities are being planned to be opened up in our neighborhoods, in our communities, in our backyards," says Nanci Palacios of Detention Watch Network. Find out how people are fighting back.

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FEATURING NANCI PALACIOS - Immigrants held in federal detention centers are dying in higher numbers than ever before under President Donald Trump. This year alone, of the 60-70,000 people being imprisoned in prison-like facilities across the nation, 17 people have died according to numbers released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since Trump’s second term began, a total of 47 people have died in federal custody. 

This weekend, a group of national organizations has called for a “Communities Not Cages National Day of Action to Stop ICE Warehouse Detention.” On Saturday April 25, more than 160 actions will take place against detention center expansions around the country. 

Nanci Palacios is  the Organizing and Membership Director at Detention Watch Network, leading national campaigns to end immigration detention and build a world where all people can live freely and without fear. She spoke with Sonali Kolhatkar about the April 25th National Day of Action.

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:

Sonali Kolhatkar: So, first let's talk about the deaths, the very disturbing deaths. I think the last time that this many people died in detention was when ICE was first formed in the early 2000s in the wake of the September 11th attacks. I suppose it's no surprise. Are we talking about the rate of people going up or the sheer numbers simply because so many people are being imprisoned by Trump? 

Nanci Palacios: Yeah, I think it's both, right? I think the increased amount of people that are being detained has rapidly increased under this administration, resulting in more people being held in detention, crowded in a lot of these detention facilities. And we already know that ICE leads to deadly actions. We have seen those numbers be increasingly at the largest amount ever last year, with over deaths, and just in the four months of this year, we have seen already deaths.