Dozens of household names and celebrities have banded together in an open letter demanding the closure of an ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas, due to its “inhumane conditions.”
Hollywood stars and filmmakers added their names and voices to a longer list of policy experts, physicians and larger organizations making calls to close the center. It is being used to hold children and families of those rounded up in the ongoing ICE raids around the country.
“Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights,” the letter reads. “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.”
Among the celebrities tying their names to letter are Pedro Pascal, Madonna, Javier Bardem, Ms. Rachel, Jane Fonda, Wunmi Mosaku, Keke Palmer, Mark Ruffalo, Hannah Einbinder, Gracie Abrams, Elizabeth Banks and many more.
The Dilley ICE center was infamously where Liam Conejo Ramos was sent after ICE detained his father, with images of the 5-year-old boy in his Spider-Man backpack going viral online. Measles outbreaks, contaminated food and drink, and general mistreatment top the reasons the center is being called to be closed. The letter is open for more signatures at Change.org.
Read the full letter and the Hollywood signatories, below:
Close Dilley ICE Detention Center: Protect Children
No child should be locked in an immigration detention center. We, the undersigned, call for the immediate closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention center in Texas and an end to the detention of children and families. Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights.
The harms of detaining children are known and well documented. 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. We urge the federal government and CoreCivic to close the Dilley facility immediately, return children and families to the homes and communities they were taken from and to end child imprisonment now. Our commitment does not end with closure. We demand transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States.
Sign on to help protect children and their families.
Abdi Nazemian, artist
Abby Wambach, artist
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, artist
Ali Wentworth, artist
Aisha Tyler, artist
Al Madrigal, artist
America Ferrera, artist
Anna Akana, artist
Aron Accurso, artist
Ariana DeBose, artist
Ashlyn Harris, artist
Billy Porter, artist
Bobby Lopez, artist
Brandi Carlile, artist
Breanna Stewart, athlete
Brendan Hines, artist
Brittney Griner, athlete
Busy Philipps, artist
Carrie Coon, artist
Celine Song, artist
Cherien Dabis, artist
Chris Perfetti, artist
Christina Ricci, artist
Cynthia Nixon, artist
Cobie Smulders, artist
Constance Wu, artist
Darren Criss, artist
Desi Perkins, artist
Diego Luna, artist
Donovan Patton, artist
Drew Scott, artist
Elaine Wentworth, artist
Elizabeth Banks, artist
Elliot Page, artist
Eva Longoria, artist
Frances Fisher, artist
Gabor Maté, artist
Gina Torres, artist
Glennon Doyle, artist
Gracie Abrams, artist
Grant Gustin, artist
Hannah Einbinder, artist
Hasan Minhaj, artist
Ilana Glazer, artist
Indigo Girls (Emily Saliers, Amy Ray), artist
Janicza Bravo, artist
Jane Fonda, artist
Javier Bardem, artist
Jen Tullock, artist
Jessica M Garcia, artist
Jesse Peretz, artist
John Cusack, artist
John Legend, artist
Jordan Walker Ross, artist
Josh Dela Cruz, artist
Katie Couric, artist
Kaitlin Becker, artist
Kathryn Grody, artist
Keke Palmer, artist
Kesha, artist
King Princess, artist
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, artist
Lance Bass, artist
Lena Dunham, artist
Leo Gonzalez, artist
Loryn Brantz, artist
Madonna, artist
Maggie Gyllenhaal, artist
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, artist
Mandy Patinkin, artist
Mark Ruffalo, artist
Melina Matsoukas, artist
Melissa Barrera, artist
Michelle Williams, artist
Mickey Sumner, artist
Morgan Spector, artist
MUNA (Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, Josette Maskin), artist
Ms. Rachel, artist
Natasha Lyonne, artist
Nick Gonzalez, athlete
Nicola Coughlan, artist
Parvati Shallow, artist
Pamela Adlon, artist
Pedro Pascal, artist
Peter Sarsgaard, artist
Poppy Liu, artist
Raffi, artist
Ramy Youssef, artist
Richa Moorjani, artist
Paul Feig, artist
Poorna Jagannathan, artist
Ravayna Coe, artist
Rebecca Hall, artist
Riley Keough, artist
Sara Bareilles, artist
Sara Wiles, Artist
Shepard Fairey, artist
Sohla and Ham El-Waylly, artist
Sophia Bush, artist
Steve Boyer, artist
Steve Burns, artist
Tommy Dorfman, artist
Wunmi Mosaku, artist
Xochitl Gonzalez, artist
Yasmin Maya, artist
Zainne Saleh, artist
