NEVER AGAIN ACTION

We have learned from history. “We know from our own histories what happens when a government targets, dehumanizes and strips an entire group of people of all their civil and human rights. We refuse to wait and see what happens next.”

The problem isn’t funding. “The reason why ICE isn’t giving people toothbrushes isn’t because they don’t have money for toothbrushes. The cruelty is the point.” (You can find out if your member of Congress voted to send more money to ICE and CBP here (aye votes)).

Torture is ICE’s policy. “ICE is inflicting countless means of physical and psychological torture on individuals and communities. People are literally dying at the border as they flee for their safety.”

This isn’t only happening at the border. “ICE detention centers are everywhere, in every state and every metropolitan area in this country. You don’t have to be at the southern border to help shut down ICE.” (You can find your nearest ICE detention center here)

People are standing up and saying this is wrong. “Over the last two weeks, thousands of Jews and allies have taken direct action against ICE at detention centers across the country to say #NeverAgainIsNow.” 

We need the Democratic party to act. “This is a crisis, and Congress is doing nothing to address it. It’s not just Trump and the GOP. Our Democratic leadership has failed to take meaningful action to stop the mass atrocities that are taking place on their watch.” (You can find out if your member of Congress voted to send more money to ICE and CBP here (aye votes)).

There is a specific, big action coming up. “On Tuesday, July 16, 2019, the Never Again movement of Jews against ICE are joining forces with Movimiento Cosecha and taking their protest to the heart of this dehumanizing immigration system: Washington, DC.”

Big evil requires big action. “We can’t just cluck our tongues and express our anger on social media. We can’t just hold polite vigils and talk about solidarity. This is the humanitarian crisis of a generation, and we have to respond with our feet and our bodies by stopping traffic, ending business as usual, and shutting down ICE.”

Keep it short! A letter should be 150-200 words.

Focus on one idea. If you have more to say, you can write more letters!

Be personal. Connecting to your family or individual history will make your letter powerful and memorable.

Ask your reader for action. Is your letter asking for a politician to take a step, a newspaper to take a stance, or a neighbor to take to the streets?

Include your contact information. Only your name and town will be published, but the editor might need to be in touch about changes to your letter.

Larger newspapers and magazines will only publish letters that are responding directly to a recent article - that means within the last 1-3 days for a daily paper, or the previous issue for a weekly or monthly. The good news is that thanks to the work of activists like you, ICE’s human rights abuses are all over the news right now. Keep an eye out for articles about:

• The conditions in the ICE camps
• ICE raids and their impact
• Statements by your elected officials about ICE and the camps
• Never Again protests, or other actions in your community

For smaller community publications, letters responding to current events and the general conversation in your area will often be welcome. You might also be able to write longer letters for local publications, but check the specific guidelines first.

When children and adults are dying in American custody, is it really the time to quibble about language? Your editorial “Don’t Call Them ‘Concentration Camps’” (July 7th) seems to argue that correctly classifying the places where people are suffering will somehow alleviate that suffering.

Whether you call them concentration camps or not, when people are being held in teeming filthy cells for months at a time, and children are separated from their parents and forced to sleep on concrete floors, and people of all ages are routinely dying in American custody, I just call it injustice.

I am the child of immigrants, and the child of survivors; my parents came to America after their siblings, parents, and friends were murdered in the Nazi concentration camps. If my parents were alive today, they would be horrified to see that the country that gave them safety and opportunity is now denying that safety and opportunity to thousands of people, and locking them into camps that are all too similar to the ones they survived. These may be “just” detention centers for now, but my parents knew what comes next, and we’re not going to just stand around and wait.

I’ve seen that large groups of Jewish protesters have been getting themselves arrested by blocking ICE detention centers around the country in the last week, crying “never again!” Good! If ordinary people in Germany had done the same thing, maybe I would have met my grandparents.

Targeting an Elected Official

I was surprised to read that Representative Kent is “full of anger” about the conditions in the ICE camps on our southern border (“Kent Speaks Out About ICE,” July 10), since wasn’t it just two weeks ago that the congressman voted to increase ICE’s funding? The problem with the camps is not that children aren’t receiving toothpaste; it’s that children are in prison at all.

If Kent really wants to express his anger, he should visit the Metropolitan Detention Center where ICE leases a block of cells, right here in the 5th Congressional district. Better yet, he should start using his power in Congress to fight for basic humanity and decency -- not by funding ICE, but by shutting it down.