SALEM, OR (May 5, 2021) - Car caravans will depart from multiple locations throughout Oregon and Washington State on Saturday May 8, traveling to the infamous Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, WA to demand the immediate release of everyone detained there. Participants are calling on Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and Oregon Governor Kate Brown to stop the transfers from their respective Department of Corrections into NWDC.
The event is happening on May 8th to mark Mother’s Day weekend. The caravan will be delivering hundreds of letters written by community members expressing solidarity, love, and strength for detained mothers and caregivers. The caravan will also call on both Oregon and Washington congressional delegations to end the transfers from any point in the country to NWDC, and support the efforts to shut down the facility before the contract expires. Washington recently passed HB1090, which bans private prisons and will require NWDC to shut down by 2025.
This action is just one of many national #FreeThemAll actions organized by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The Oregon and Washington action is co-sponsored by many faith communities as well as immigration justice organizations throughout Oregon and Washington.
Who: Organizations from Oregon and Washington, supporters and relatives of people detained at NWDC
What: Car caravans departing from Salem and Portland OR, and Forks and Vancouver WA (and other locations), rally and letter delivery at NWDC
When: Saturday May 8, arriving at 12:30PM at Northwest Detention Center, 1623 E J Street Tacoma, WA 98421
Why: Demand the end to transfers from Department of Corrections OR and WA and transfers from any point in the country to NWDC, and immediate shutdown of the facility.
Co-sponsoring Groups with American Friends Service Committee: Adelante Mujeres, SOAR Immigration Legal Services, La Resistencia, Doctors for Camp Closure, Gorge ICE Resistance, Linn Benton Rapid Response Team, Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ), Eugene Friends Meeting, Immigrant Solidarity Collaborative, Comité de Derechos Humanos Forks, Latinos Unidos Siempre, Rural Organizing Project(ROP), Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Portland Jobs with Justice, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, DREAMers’ Resource Center, League of United Latin American Citizens (lulac.org), NORCOR Community Resources Coalition.
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The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social systems.