Indivisibles,

I wrestled with how to write about the crisis at Delaney Hall. Rather than give you a screed, I collected my own thoughts by just writing down what I know. I hope it’s useful.

• What is Delaney Hall? The Delaney Hall Detention Facility is an immigration concentration camp in Newark, New Jersey with more than 1,000 beds. It’s one of many other such facilities that play a major role in Trump’s multi-billion-dollar mass deportation agenda. 
• Who funds and runs it? Delaney is federally funded and privately run for profit. GEO Group, ICE’s single largest contractor, received a $1 billion contract from ICE to run it. GEO operates more than a dozen similar ICE-funded camps around the country. 
• Who’s being held there? Human beings. Immigrants who’ve been here for decades. Parents and spouses of US citizens, Dreamers like the 18-year-old pulled out weeks before her high school graduation, pregnant women, the elderly, and overwhelmingly people with no criminal records at all. People who are detained do much of the facility's own labor -- cooking, cleaning, repairs -- for as little as $1 per day.
• What are the conditions like inside? Horrible. There are reports of maggot-ridden food, overcrowding, extreme heat, scalding showers, and dangerously inadequate healthcare -- no doctor on site, and Tylenol handed out for everything from cancer to chronic disease. 
• Why are we just hearing about it now? Delaney has been a flashpoint for over a year. But on May 22, a few hundred detained people organized a hunger and labor strike, followed by solidarity protests outside the building. Then it escalated:
• Last weekend, ICE agents pepper-sprayed press and protestors, including US Senator Andy Kim.
• This past weekend, Gov. Sherrill sent in state police that used tear gas, flash-bangs, rubber bullets, and mounted units to attack protestors and press; Proud Boys counterprotestors showed up; and the city set a curfew.
• What are the protestors inside and out demanding? Local Indivisible members are among the throng of protestors. Immigrants detained inside Delaney are bravely demanding dignity, due process, and the freedom to be with their families. They want Delaney and all detention centers closed down. They demand that the most vulnerable -- particularly the elderly, the young, and the seriously ill -- be released, and investigations into the facility and those running it.
• What are Republicans doing? Republicans are accepting no blame and are escalating. DHS Secretary Mullin criticized Senator Kim for showing up, and he threatened to effectively shut down the Newark International airport in retaliation.
• How are Democrats responding? Mixed. Senator Kim has continued to show up and helped keep a spotlight on what’s happening inside the facility. House Minority Leader Jeffries led a delegation inside the facility and said afterwards it “must be shut down immediately.” The Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill has demanded that health inspectors be allowed into the facility, but is also getting lots of criticism for doing her best imitation of George Wallace by directing anger at protesters rather than Trump's fascist goons.

The only other relevant thing I know is that all elected officials answer to us. It’s federal funds flowing through private hands tormenting the moms, dads, and kids inside Delaney and camps like it across the country. Congress controls the purse and has oversight power, and members are returning from recess this week to try to pass a reconciliation bill that would shovel billions more to ICE and Border Patrol. Now is the time for us all to act. We've got a number of ways to do that in our weekly to-dos.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

Your weekly to-dos

1. Show your solidarity with hunger strikers by demanding Congressional action against Trump’s mass detention regime. People detained at Delaney Hall and other detention centers are on hunger strike to protest their captivity and inhumane treatment by ICE. Use the link above to call your representative and demand Congress address the captives’ demands and stop the Trump regime’s inhumane incarceration of our immigrant neighbors. Then, use this link to call your senators, too. 
2. If you have a Republican Member of Congress, email them to oppose another penny of funding for ICE and Border Patrol. The scenes outside Delaney over the past week have put ICE and Border Patrol’s brutality and lawlessness on public display once again. And yet, as soon as this week, Congress could hold a vote to hand those thuggish agencies tens of billions more. We need to increase the pressure NOW to peel off enough Republicans to sink the funding bill. 
3. Tell Congress to stop Trump’s war with Iran NOW. Republican leadership canceled a vote on a resolution to end the Iran war just before Congressional recess because it appeared the legislation was about to pass the House. This week, amidst new flare ups in the war that could lead to more death and chaos, the vote could come up. Email your representative and demand they vote to end this illegal war now! 
4. Send an email to your Members of Congress demanding they block a new war with Cuba -- and deliver immediate humanitarian relief to the Cuban people. Even as the war with Iran drags on, the Trump regime is racing toward yet another military conflict 90 miles from the United States. Already, Cubans are starving and hospitals are without power because Trump has imposed a catastrophic blockade on the island. Use our email tool to call for immediate action to prevent war and mass starvation. 
5. Congress is in revolt over Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund. Tell them to pass legislation to block it before a cent is released to January 6 insurrectionists. Trump raiding his own treasury to create his own private budget, bypassing Congress and the Constitution, for that matter, appears to be a bridge too far for many Republicans in Congress. But anonymous statements and expressions of concern aren’t enough. Congress needs to end this corruption now. 

P.S. As the to-dos this week demonstrate, there’s a lot going on right now in our fight against the cruelty, violence, and lawlessness of this regime, and Indivisible continues to be on the frontlines defending our communities and democracy. But, for the first time since the election, we missed our fundraising goal last month. We can absolutely weather a slow month -- we’re not about to start sending ‘the sky is falling’ emails -- but over time (and especially heading into midterms), we need to make up some lost ground. So please chip in, if you can, to fuel our fight to defeat authoritarianism in America. 

What we’ll be doing on the anniversary of the first No Kings Day

Trump will be marking his birthday once again with made-for-tv spectacle. This time, instead of emulating dictators with a military parade, he’ll be playing Roman emperor with a cage match for his amusement at the White House.

The Committee for the First Amendment, with enthusiastic support from the No Kings Coalition, will be counterprogramming his little stunt with a nationally livestreamed concert featuring prominent activists and musicians. 

But ours won’t be mere spectacle. We’re inviting folks to host house parties around the country to build local power around anti-authoritarian defiance. Lots of Indivisible groups already have events planned, but you don’t need to be a group leader to invite a few friends over and use our organizing toolkit to plan local actions. 

And for those who tune in on their own, we’ll be offering calls to action around voting, election protection, and defense of our First Amendment rights. 

You can find more info at the Rise Up and Sing Out website, or sign up to host a watch party here.

 Upcoming events + Election shifts

These nationwide events, calls, training sessions, and electoral volunteer opportunities are coming up soon. For even more Indivisible happenings, check our national calendar and get in touch with Indivisible groups near you!