- Action #1: Sign the “ICE OUT of Ventura County’s open letter to the Board of Supervisors – DEADLINE – Friday, October 8.
- Action #2: Denounce inhumane and discriminatory practices against Black asylum seekers at the southern border.
- Action #3: WTH, DHS? Why do we need to ask ICE to stop spraying detained people with toxic chemicals.
Action #1: Sign the “ICE OUT of Ventura County’s open letter to the Board of Supervisors – DEADLINE – Friday, October 8.
For VENTURA COUNTY RESIDENTS: Please sign ICE Out of Ventura County’s open letter urging our Board of Supervisors to protect all Ventura County community members by using its power to put an end to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s (VCSO) practice of collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The deadline to sign onto the form is Friday, October 8th.
- Read the full letter here. https://www.iceoutofvc.org/open-letter-to-the-bos
- The form to sign onto the letter is here: https://bit.ly/SignonLettertoVCBofS
- To access the form in Spanish, please visit: https://bit.ly/agreguelacartaabiertaalBoS
Action #2: Denounce inhumane and discriminatory practices against Black asylum seekers at the southern border.
Contact – Email: President Biden and Vice President Harris via the White House contact form and Speaker Pelosi via the House Speaker contact form, and Majority Leader Schumer via his contact page.
Script: Hello, I’m a Democratic voter writing to you from California to oppose the inhumane treatment of Haitian refugees who come here for the same second chance as our own forefathers. This is the 21st century. It is past time that we truly heed Martin Luther King’s words “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The U.S. is constitutionally obligated to offer asylum to all people fleeing humanitarian disaster, yet our government continues to rain violence and abuse on asylum-seekers of color who turn to us for protection. I am joining community leaders and human rights organizations calling for divesting and defunding DHS, an end to deportations and Title 42, and the enactment of humane, holistic immigration policy.
Their joint letter (tinyurl.com/Stop-war-on-Black-Immigrants) more fully explains my concerns.
Action #3: WTH, DHS? Why do we need to ask ICE to stop spraying detained people with toxic chemicals.
While our nation watched in horror as mounted border police ran down Haitian refugees, reenacting our nation’s darkest history of slavery, our immigration detention facilities have recreated a modern version of the dangerous and degrading 1917 “gasoline” baths used on migrant workers crossing the border. Never heard of this? Watch this.
A hundred years later, here we are…
“Every day crowded cells holding people at an immigration detention facility in Florida have been doused with caustic disinfectants that have caused breathing problems and bleeding, according to reports from the detainees. The disinfectants contain two chemical compounds that scientific research has implicated in long-term damage to human cells and—in animals—to reproductive health…
Two disinfectants known to be sprayed at Glades are called Mint and Maxim Neutral, and their ingredients that have raised concern are known as quaternary ammonium compounds, or QACs. The disinfectants have been used because of fears of the spread of COVID at the Glades facility. Detainees have said that crews wearing backpack sprayers have showered these products into the air, contrary to both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturer instructions, which state they should only be sprayed directly onto surfaces. And a Scientific American investigation has revealed internal e-mails that indicate Glades staff were not diluting at least one of these products to the highly reduced levels specified by its manufacturer’s EPA-regulated guidelines, adding to the danger. Both actions carry civil and criminal penalties under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). ICE declined to comment on any aspect of this story, citing “pending litigation on this subject.” The Glades County Sheriff’s Office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Contact: Miami ICE Field Office Director Garrett J. Ripa at (954) 236-4911 or garrett.j.ripa@ice.dhs.gov, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at DHSsecretary@hq.dhs.gov, and President Biden via the White House contact form.
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] to oppose spraying people with chemicals and to support closing the Glades Detention Center. This facility has a documented history of providing poor living conditions, including the repeated exposure of aspiring Americans to toxic chemicals, medical neglect, and numerous abuse allegations. In solidarity with hunger strikers and members of Congress, I ask you to immediately shut down the Glades Detention Center and release those held there back to our communities AND file reckless endangerment charges against those officials who countenanced this abuse.
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 