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THREAD: Hundreds of immigrant children are being detained in our backyard. The Chicago DSA Immigrants Rights Committee is fighting back.
Heartland Alliance is a Chicago-based nonprofit org that has historically focused on anti-poverty and immigration issues #FreeHeartlandKids
Heartland Alliance is a Chicago-based nonprofit org that has historically focused on anti-poverty and immigration issues #FreeHeartlandKids
One of its constituent companies, Heartland Human Care Services, is currently contracted with the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the US Department of Health and Human Services to detain so-called “unaccompanied alien children”, and has been since 1995 #FreeHeartlandKids
Heartland operates 5 child detention centers in Chicago and, until recently, 2 in Des Plaines. Over 350 kids are estimated to be in Heartland’s custody, but as of last summer, Heartland would or could not disclose the number of detained children to City Council #FreeHeartlandKids
The child detention centers operated by Heartland Alliance came to public attention last year from reporting by ProPublica, the New York Times, and the Washington Post which highlighted abuse allegations, complaints, and neglect #FreeHeartlandKids https://bit.ly/2OpaEPr
Firsthand reports from children include forced labor, denial of medical attention and abusive treatment. A DCSF report cited an alleged “inappropriate relationship” between a 27 year-old Heartland employee and a 17 year-old detainee #FreeHeartlandKids https://www.propublica.org/article/heartland-chicago-immigration-shelters-lax-supervision-sexual-activity
Heartland Alliance collaborates with ICE regularly, sharing detainee sponsor biometric data and their immigrant status. ICE regularly arrives at the detention centers at midnight on a detainee’s 18th birthday to take them into custody #FreeHeartlandKids https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-immigrant-shelters-heartland-internal-documents
Heartland received a staggering $40.2 million in federal grant money to operate these detention centers in 2017 alone, accounting for nearly 25% of Heartland Alliance’s overall revenue. As federal grants have increased, so has Heartland executive pay #FreeHeartlandKids
The Chicago DSA Immigrants Rights Committee will be presenting a letter next Monday the 17th to David Sinski, the Executive Director of Heartland Human Care Services with a list of demands (see below image) #FreeHeartlandKids
Every day next week, from June 17th to June 21st, we’ll be peacefully flyering at lunchtime outside Heartland Alliance’s Headquarters in the Loop (208 S LaSalle St) #FreeHeartlandKids
We need you to join us. Show up in force to let Heartland know that we demand the closure of these detention centers and the release of the detained children to their families/sponsors WITHOUT enabling ICE to tear their families apart #FreeHeartlandKids
Heartland has already shut down its Des Plaines detention centers by ceasing intake of new children and continuing to release and reunify the remaining children with sponsors. Those children did not go to “worse” detention centers. They went home or as close to it as possible.
As socialists, we know that ICE is a tool of state oppression, meant to enact a white-supremacist agenda, criminalize poverty, and drive wedges between us to stifle working class power #AbolishICE #FreeHeartlandKids
As human beings, we know that keeping children in prison for the audacious crime of seeking a better life with their families is a stain on Chicago’s moral conscience. We must and we will #FreeHeartlandKids
Next week's actions are just the beginning of this campaign. If you'd like to get involved with #FreeHeartlandKids, please fill out this Google Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoDONv1rujt0fPY0Qpnq1nxlLHfDsZ7Vo5VlJG0PkN6EZYNw/viewform
