Inmates At Privately-Run ICE Camp Go On Hunger Strike
Amidst a COVID-19 outbreak, around 100 detained migrants at a private, for-profit prison in Farmville, VA, have collectively gone on hunger strike, demanding their release on medical and humane grounds. That is according to Sanctuary DMV, a volunteer organization helping immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area. Phone lines to the dorms have been cut and visits have been suspended. Inmates claim that one dorm is under strict quarantine. “We are very concerned about the health and safety of everyone detained at Farmville and detention centers, prisons, and jails across the country,” said Madhvi Venkatraman, core organizer with Sanctuary DMV. The move comes in response to the inaction of Attorney General William Barr; Detainees at ICA-Farmville had sent him a letter March 25, pleading to be released, but received no reply.