At least 14 immigrants and leaders chained themselves to the door of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s mansion in Fair Oaks, an upscale suburb of Sacramento County in the state’s north, to ask him to use his power to grant clemency and urgently release inmates from state prisons. The 14 chained were arrested by Highway Patrol and sheriff agents, and held in custody for several hours.
The protesters also demanded that the governor stop transferring prisoners from state and local jails to the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE); and to stop the expansion of immigration detention centers in California.
The action was organized by the California Liberation Collective involving immigrants, community organizers, and immigration attorneys.
“It is hypocritical for the governor to speak out against institutionalized racism when he lets prisoners die because of COVID-19,” said Jon Rodney, director of narrative strategies for the Immigrant Defense Project.
“ANDn all state prisons we have had 40 deaths from COVID-19, and the virus has spread to detention centers due to the high number of transfers they make“, he pointed.
“2,000 cases of coronavirus have been registered in the San Quintín state prison.”
He recalled that at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, there have been 160 cases, and the first death due to the pandemic in a California immigration center.
The action takes place at a time when immigrants detained at ICE centers in Mesa Verde and Yuba are in the midst of a work stoppage and a hunger strike to urge their release at the possibility of contagion.
After a religious ceremony to honor the loss of life in California’s prisons and detention centers, protesters offered their support to families who have lost loved ones in custody.
“The governor banned the death penalty, but has presided over dozens of preventable deaths in state prisons, and makes empty statements about racial justice while leaving Latinos and African-Americans to die in their cells,” Collective organizers jointly stated. of California Liberation.
They emphasized that the Governor of California criticizes Trump when it is convenient, but he puts from ICE to Californians eligible to be released instead of hand them over to their families, and with this, COVID-19 spreads not only in the United States but throughout the world. ”.
The protest comes four months after the governor issued his first order to stay home.
“Over the next 130 days, doctors, health experts, and community groups have repeatedly urged the governor to take action to save the lives of those incarcerated, writing scores of letters, and holding protests with social distance,” they said.
They added that doctors and health experts have warned on many occasions that social distance is impossible in any type of incarceration, and that jails, prisons and detention centers have severe public health challenges.
“We have had silence in response, despite calls from the health authorities who have requested a 50% reduction in San Quintín in the face of the crisis. Even a federal judge criticized the Newsom administration for its failure in policy and planning. “
The announcement to release 8,000 from state prisons, one in ten of the total population, has been considered too little and too late by the leaders of the California Liberation Collective. This is all the more so because the release will not take effect until August 1, leaving people in prisons vulnerable to COVID-19 for several weeks, which can result in the transfer of community members to ICE.
Armando Carmona of the Immigrant Justice Coalition said that ICE has reported 12 immigrants infected with coronavirus at the Adelanto Detention Center. “The concern is greater because they have been transferring prisoners to this center, and increasing the chances of contagion.”
He said that workers at the GEO group, the company that runs the Adelanto Detention Center, have used chemicals to disinfect surfaces, phones and covers, but have had reports that some immigrants have been sprayed directly.
An immigrant let them know that the chemical spray caused nosebleeds, eye irritation, and headaches. When they ask for medical attention, it takes at least four to six days to receive it, the leader reported.
And he announced that a month ago, during some protests they sprayed them with pepper spray and shot them with plastic rubbers, causing injuries that were not treated and they were not allowed to bathe for a week.
“The situation is terrible. Inhumane conditions have intensified. We have to release the detainees in these prisons ”, said.
The opinion Awaiting a response from the governor’s office on the protesters’ requests.
