Speech Delivered during Protest Outside of SF Field Office

Hello everyone,

My name is Jose Ruben Hernandez. 

I am the spiritual activist with Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity, as well as the dignity not detention coalition, and a student at the San Joaquin Delta College.  I am a formerly detained leader who has survived the hostile and degrading treatment in both Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde ICE detention centers. 

These 2 for profit ICE Detention Centers have damaged me physically and mentally. Whether it was through the sexual abuse and harrasament, to the long period of time of being placed in solitary confinement, to the violent transfers to texas for purpose of being tortured and force fed, to being denied medical treatment that has left me cane bound, in which all of these these are the many forms of retaliation that I experienced by ICE and GEO, All for asking for better living conditions as well as to be paid the California minimum wage for the janitorial work that we were subjected to do for the slave wages of  a dollar a day. Last year we were on a labor strike that lasted over 9 months as well as a hunger strike that lasted over 21 days. 

This year our detained brothers are left to exert the same form of resistance of labor striking and going on a hunger strike because they are facing the same abuse, mistreatment, and retaliation that we faced during our detention and to make things worse now ICE and GEO have removed the limited free phone calls that our detained detained brothers were able to make to call their families and loved ones,  in which now forces them to pay the predatory high cost for phone calls. Personally, communicating with my loved ones helped me cope with daily torturous 20-24 hour locked down in detention. And as of tomorrow Aug 1, ICE will remove the access to make free legal calls to immigration attorneys. I must say that If it wasn't for these free phone calls and free legal calls when I was in detention, I know for a fact that would not be here speaking to you today. I would be subjected to being deported to a country where many of us face harm and even death. It's bad as it is that the government refuses to appoint us an attorney in immigration proceedings but taking away the free legal phone calls   to find legal assistance or representation just adds to the immense difficulties of being able to have a fair chance of fighting our immigration cases. 

I said it in my past years in detention and I say it now: Enough is Enough. These Scheming for profit ICE detention centers, that enslave our immigrant  community need to cease to exist.  We have tried meeting with Moises Becerra while we were on Hunger strike in detention in which he refused to do so but instead sent out squads of ice officers and geo officers to cause us harm while we were on 18 days of being on a hunger strike, we call on to him today to come meet with us and  demand that he  adheres to our detained bothers demands and that's to:

Terminate the Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex contract renewal between ICE and GEO and to use your discretion to release our detained brothers. Removing free phone calls from our detained people and taking away their access to free legal calls, using solitary confinement for forms of intimidation and implementing fear in the detainee population, continuously violating the performance based national detention standards clearly leaves no room for Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex - the 2 for profit ice detention centers in Kern county - to continue operating.

Hey everyone!

My name is Pedro Ayón. I was formerly detained at Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde detention facilities.

These immigration facilities are designed to do these things to those that are being detained there… that is to discourage them from fighting for their freedom, lose their sanity (mentally), disconnect them from outside community support and overall to treat you as if your life doesn’t matter. Food often is spoiled, commissary prices are so expensive that if someone doesn’t have financial support it’s impossible to purchase decent snacks or much less other food items. The ceiling in Mesa Verde's showers had mold, and their windows were blurred so people can’t look outside. For me that was very stressful and tough to deal with. I went out to chapel services weekly and to the yard as often as I could to keep my sanity, hope and mental health. Under these terrible living conditions people detained in those places often are forced to sign their deportation rather than trying to fight their cases. The mental, physical and often sexual abuse the staff put people through is inhumane and cruel. To further cause damage and harm to everyone detained these facilities uses retaliation and imposes fear to anyone that tries to speak up and peacefully protest against their abuse and horrible conditions. 

I urge our community to support our community members currently detained by donating to them and joining us on their efforts to be treated with dignity and respect. We can’t turn a blind eye to the abuse these for profit facilities cause to our jente currently detained.

I was detained for 20 months, a period marked by deeply traumatic experiences. Being separated from my brothers, sisters, and mother was heartbreaking. The conditions in the detention centers were inhumane; they were unsanitary and uninhabitable, making me feel like an animal. The way I was treated by the guards was horrible, and the food was often rotten. Despite our constant pleas for help to ICE, the situation never improved. The distress and despair from these conditions left a lasting impact on me. 

Now that I am released, I feel very grateful and blessed to be with my family. I get to work and help with any needs they have. I hope that one day these places close because they are inhumane. No one in your family or anyone’s family should end up in places like those because it is extremely traumatizing. - EOR from GSA

Being detained for a year in an immigration facility severely impacted my mental state and well-being. The food was consistently poor and lacked nutritional value, worsening my physical health and putting my overall health at risk. The unsanitary and harsh conditions led to a constant feeling of discomfort and stress. Despite repeated pleas for better living conditions and adequate medical care, nothing ever improved. This persistent neglect fostered a deep sense of helplessness and despair. The chronic stress and anxiety from this experience left a lasting mark on my mental and physical health, highlighting the urgent need for humane treatment in such facilities. 

We think that our fight is over once we get out of detention. We forget that as undocumented, formally in prison and/or detention - we as a community have the least amount of resources from the community. I’ve had to advocate for everything I have today. Always proving that I’m not a threat to society. From getting an ankle monitor off to getting a work permit even just getting an ID it’s a fight. Nothing is given to us. I’m grateful that I get to fight from outside. It’s a different battle but a battle nonetheless. We shall stay together we can’t fight this fight alone. “I’m not free till we all free.”