Jodie Foster, Ben Stiller, Janelle Monáe, Spike Lee, Edward Norton, Joan Baez, Quinta Brunson, Jessica Alba, Lucy Dacus, Ava DuVernay, Tatiana Maslany, Alyssa Milano and Boots Riley are among the new wave of Hollywood names to add their signatures to a petition demanding the “immediate closure” of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, a prison-like facility used to hold children and families following ICE raids in the United States.
First announced late last month, the letter has been signed by more than 215,000, a number that includes actors, artists, activists, physicians, organizations and more. It calls upon the federal government and private prison operator CoreCivic to shutter the facility amid mounting and months-long scrutiny.
“Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights,” reads the letter, which calls for systemic change and accountability. “Court filings of abuse against children have included refusals to provide clean water, rotten food contaminated with worms, dangerous medical neglect, sleep deprivation, denial of legal counsel, the separation of children from their families, and retaliation against families protesting the inhumane conditions. Children belong in schools and on playgrounds, not in detention centers.”
Multiple reports have cited unsafe conditions within the detention center, including recent cases of measles, contaminated food and water, inadequate medical care, severe mistreatment of detainees and illegal imprisonment. The facility received widespread attention because it’s where federal authorities sent 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos after arresting him with his father in Minneapolis amid controversial ICE raids in the city. Images of Ramos went viral as it showed him being taken into custody while wearing a Spider-Man backpack.
“As the outcry over ICE abuse and violence continues to grow, we must demand an end to family detention. Family detention, like all immigration detention, is inhumane and unjust. Childhood is a fleeting period of time that has a tremendous impact on setting the foundation for a person’s lifelong well-being — it must be protected,” said Carly Pérez Fernández, communications director at Detention Watch Network and member of the National Coalition to End Child and Family Detention.
The second wave of signatories (edited down to include entertainment industry names) is below. The full list can be found here.
Ed Norton, artist
Maren Morris, artist
Janelle Monáe, artist
Jodie Foster, artist
Megan Falley, artist
Lucy Dacus, artist
Quinta Brunson, artist
Jessica Alba, artist
Joan Baez, artist
Clayton Grimm, artist
Lauren Jauregui, artist
Boots Riley, artist
Chadwick Stokes, artist
Brad Corrigan, artist
Brittany O’Grady, artist
Alyssa Milano, artist
Favianna Rodriguez, artist activist
Tune-Yards’ Nate Brenner and Merrill Garbus, artists
Gianmarco Soresi, artist
Spike Lee, artist
Austin Channing Brown, artist
Megan Rapinoe, athlete
Alex Hedison, artist
Jesse Williams, artist
Tig Notaro, artist
Tatiana Maslany, artist
Stephanie Alynne, artist
Tarana Burke, activist
Laurie Berkner, artist
Emily Calandrelli, artist
Brad Montague, artist
Cole Escola, artist
Tabitha Brown, artist
Jenna Kutcher, artist
Amanda Doyle, activist
