Over 150 Illegal Aliens Detained in PA Begin Hunger Strike Demanding Release

Roughly 180 illegal aliens detained in Pennsylvania are now hunger striking to demand their release due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The hunger strike is taking place at the York County Detention Center.

“We are chickens in a chicken coop here — we are like sitting ducks,” a detainee referred to only as “Jesus” told WHYY.

“We want people to be able to get out on parole or with ankle bracelets and to be released,” Jesus added. “In our block, there are older gentlemen, there are people with high blood pressure, diabetes who are still here.”

The protest is being supported by an organization called the Movement of Immigration Leaders in Pennsylvania (MILP). Their website says that they are “a network of immigrant families that cultivates leadership and the organizing of our communities across the State of Pennsylvania.”

“With MILPA we claim our rights for this land. We belong here because we are from here. MILPA is a new formation and unity that grows from our roots. It represents a new phase of our communities continued growth in this state. We continue working visiting towns and cities in Pennsylvania that need our support, and building committees that reflect and represent our values to claim our human rights and fight for justice,” their website says.

There was already another hunger strike protest taking place at a facility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in Newark, New Jersey. The strike has continued after an illegal alien detainee who contracted the Chinese coronavirus was one of ten who were released from the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, New Jersey.

The infected detainee was released following a federal judge in New York City ordering ten illegal aliens released from custody citing “inadequate conditions.”

“The risk that Petitioners will face a severe, and quite possibly fatal, infection if they remain in immigration detention constitutes irreparable harm warranting a TRO,” US District Court Judge Analisa Torres wrote in her order. “Respondents have exhibited, and continue to exhibit, deliberate indifference to Petitioners’ medical needs.”

Bergen County officials maintain that the allegations of poor conditions at the facility are false. An ICE official also told Buzzfeed that “detainees have access to comprehensive medical care while at the facility and any that may be isolated for COVID-19 will be seen daily by medical professionals.”

 

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