Stand With Those Imprisoned by ICE

Please keep reading for an important message from Noelle Damico at the Workers Circle.

This week, Kristi Noem sat before Congress. And so did four families whose loved ones were taken from them.

I was in the room when Kristi Noem sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee… and I watched as she had to face the families whose lives her policies have torn apart.

Families sit in the audience of the Senate chamber

Families and activists raise one hand holding a photo of their loved one, detained by ICE

The Workers Circle flew these four families to Washington, DC to testify before Congress. These are families with loved ones who have been in ICE detention camps at Alligator Alcatraz, Krome Detention Center in Miami, and Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. I spent the last several days working with Congressional staff to make sure they had a seat at the table.

And they used it in a way I could barely believe – putting human faces and real stories against the sterile statistics that the Department of Homeland Security loves to hide behind.

These families missed days of work and lost wages they couldn’t afford to lose to be here to speak on behalf of their loved ones. That’s how important this fight is.

This could not have happened without the generous support of people just like you and groups like The Labor Force refusing to accept the inhumanity that this administration parades each and every day, demanding that we accept it. We need to raise $10,000 to cover the full expenses of this critical trip, for 9 people which includes last minute (expensive) airfare, hotel, and meals.

Will you split a contribution of $5 or more to help the Workers Circle cover the costs to fly these impacted families to Washington, DC to hold Kristi Noem and DHS accountable?

Families sit in the audience with Noelle from the Workers Circle

I’ve spent my career fighting for social justice, and I can tell you: this is how change happens. Not just through lawsuits and legislation – though those matter too. Change happens when the people making decisions can no longer pretend the consequences are abstract.

When a daughter who hasn’t seen her father in months is in the same room as the person who authorized his detention, the wall between policy and humanity gets thinner.

Let me level with you. This Senate hearing was powerful. We are starting to see the cracks in the system that has disappeared so many of our neighbors, and we must keep up the pressure. That’s where your support is so important.

We need to raise $10,000 to cover what it took to make this hearing possible: flights, hotels, meals, and other forms of support for the families. And we need to build the capacity to keep showing up – outside of detention centers, in the streets, and hell, even in the halls of Congress itself.

Please chip in right now to fund the airfare, hotel, and meals of the families who showed up and continue to hold DHS accountable. >>

In solidarity,

Noelle Damico
Workers Circle