Thread by @MigrantFreedom

NEW: We filed a lawsuit against the Sheriff of #Etowah Co.

Last fall, following a peaceful protest outside the jail, the Sheriff retaliated & blocked volunteers from visiting men detained there.

This violates the free speech rights of community members:
freedomforimmigrants.org/news/2020/9/1/…

“Once again, the Etowah Co. Sheriff’s Office is trying to make visitor volunteers choose between their First Amendment rights & supporting people in immigration detention [...] This is not a choice the government can legally ask them to make,"

@ChristinaFialho

In terminating the Etowah Visitation Project, the Sheriff is not just trying to punish visitor volunteers and people detention, they are trying to send a message to all activists to stay silent.

This is contrary to the county’s and ICE’s stated commitment to transparency.

Visitor volunteers not only provide a connection to the outside world, they also play a vital role in documenting human rights abuses in ICE prisons

ICE can't block the First Amendment rights of activists in & out of detention just because they don't like what is made public

There have been at least 22 reported cases of #COVID19 at EDC.

We've heard from people detained there who say those w/symptoms have been sent to solitary confinement. Men sent to solitary report that the unit is filthy.

These are the types of abuses the Sheriff wants to hide