Shut Down Glades Detention Center

TAKE ACTION NOW: Contact the Glades County Commission to shut down the Glades Detention Center now.

There’s no question: Immigration detention is known for abuse, pervasive medical neglect, and complete disregard for the dignity and safety of people in custody.

The Glades County Detention Center, located in Florida, has a long documented history of horrific conditions and human rights abuses. We need to shut it down immediately.

This is why activist groups recently urged members of Congress to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security calling for closure of this facility. Locally, the Glades County Commission also has the power to terminate its contract with ICE and end these abuses.

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Dear Glades County Board of County Commissioners,

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Immigration detention is inherently abusive, cruel, inhumane, and traumatizing. Conditions at the Glades County Detention Center have become so life-threatening that a coalition of advocacy organizations filed a civil rights and civil liberties complaint in February with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This is just one of many complaints filed on behalf of individuals abused at Glades over many years.

The conditions at Glades include but are not limited to: patterns of medical abuse; lack of soap, hygiene products, sanitation, and personal protective equipment; continued transfers between facilities without quarantine; retaliation for peaceful protest and public reporting, including a pattern of off camera physical assault; use of toxic chemical spray in enclosed spaces; hospitalizations and death.

Millions of taxpayer dollars are also being wasted to maintain thousands of empty beds and keep asylum seekers and immigrants in inhumane and life-threatening conditions. ICE is currently paying to maintain hundreds of empty beds at Glades - at taxpayers’ expense - while there are low numbers of people at the facility.

Nationwide, 21 people reportedly died in ICE detention, or shortly after being released in 2020. That’s the highest annual death toll since 2005. Eight of these deaths were due to COVID-19, including one individual at Glades, according to the Vera Institute.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that a different way is possible, and the release of tens of thousands of detained persons across the country illustrates how the system is unnecessary.

We urge you and your fellow Glades County Commissioners to move swiftly to terminate your contract with ICE and stop supporting this cruel system that endangers lives and separates families.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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Shut Down Glades Detention Center

TAKE ACTION NOW: Contact the Glades County Commission to shut down the Glades Detention Center now.

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