HOUSTON, TEXAS – Gathering in the shadows of the Houston Contract Detention Facility, where a detainee died in July and which has been cited as having more deaths than most other facilities nationwide, activists are rallying today with the National Organization for Women (NOW) and our Unlock the Future partners for the humane treatment of immigrant women and girls.
“Brave women make the difficult, wrenching choice to uproot their families, abandon their homes and risk a dangerous journey north seeking a life free from violence and assault,” said NOW President Toni Van Pelt. “Yet when they get here they find themselves in places such as the Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe, Texas, which has a history of detaining pregnant women, and where former detainees have reported sexual assault. Across the nation, the rates of miscarriages have doubled among detained women over the past two years. These atrocities simply must stop.”
To demand action against such horrid conditions, the Unlock the Future campaign is championing a Bill of Rights for immigrant women and girls, which has thousands of signatures calling for basic human needs and dignities for detained people. This effort is more vital than ever as news reports have just revealed that White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller, a key architect of President Trump’s inhumane immigration policies, once allegedly circulated material linked to white nationalism.
“NOW and our partners are rallying in Houston and at additional locations around the country for the women and children who have been stripped of their dignity, safety and their visibility as human beings. Their voices aren’t being heard. Their stories aren’t being told,” said NOW Vice President Christian F. Nunes. “But we are here for them and standing with them, and through our Bill of Rights we are taking their cause to the highest levels of government.”
Speakers at the rally include U.S. Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) as well as Ruby Powers, immigration lawyer and human rights activist, Tia Oso, international activist and strategist for BLD PWR initiative, Amy Hinojosa, president and CEO, MANA, A National Latina Organization, Kendrick Sampson, activist and actor from HBO’s Insecure, Frances “Poppy” Northcutt, Texas NOW president and Andrea Fernandez, NOW-Austin chair. National Organization for women and our Unlock the Future partners will next hold a rally in Phoenix on Dec. 8 and will be taking the Bill of Rights to Capitol Hill and top administration officials.
Speaker Quotes in Support of Unlock the Future Houston:
“Many of these women are seeking refuge from sexual violence, assault and poverty. We should have a humane immigration process that does not make it harder on them or dehumanizes them for having the courage to seek the American dream.”
— U.S. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas)
“The unconscionable treatment of women and girls at the border is being done in our name – and that means we have a responsibility to end it.”
–Ruby Powers, Immigration Lawyer and Human Rights Activist
“The cruelty being visited upon women and girls in detention – from lack of access to basic cleanliness and hygiene products to sexual assault and physical violence on top of family separation – should keep us all awake at night. They have endured the unimaginable in search of a better life, yet arrive to this treatment. Those of us with a voice are needed in this moment – and we will use our voices until these unconscionable practices end.”
—Amy Hinojosa, President and CEO, MANA, A National Latina Organization
“As we work to liberate everyone, we must pay particular attention to protecting and centering the most vulnerable. Womxn and girls are especially vulnerable in detention.”
–Kendrick Sampson, Activist and Actor from HBO’s Insecure
“We need to mobilize, we need to organize, and we need to realize that we have the power.” — Andrea Fernandez, NOW-Austin chair
Unlock the Future Co-Sponsors
National Partners
African Communities Public Health Coalition
Association of World Citizens
Black Women’s Blueprint
BLD PWR
CASA
Catholics for Choice
Dolores Huerta Foundation
Families Belong Together
Feminist Majority Political Action Committee
First Church UCC
Go With The Flow
Harness
Immigrant Families Together
Justice for Migrant Women
Legal Momentum
MomsRising
MamásConPoder
MANA
PERIOD. The Menstrual Movement
Refugee and Immigrant Center for
Education and Legal Services (RAICES)
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Sister Song
The Global Women’s Institute
The Peace Alliance
UltraViolet
UNITE HERE!
Local and State Partners
California Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (AD-51)
Border Angels
California NOW
Field Team 6
Heart of LA Democratic Club
Hollywood NOW
LEAN IN San Diego
Migrant Child Watch
San Gabriel Valley California NOW
Planned Parenthood Generation Action at UC San Diego
Riverside County California NOW
San Diego Area California NOW
Senator Pro Temp Toni Atkins
Stonewall Democratic Club
The Strategic Insights Group
Women’s March California
Women’s March San Diego
California NOW
84 Reasons Inc
C.A.E.O.S. Project
Eagle Wings
eCinaj
Houston Area NOW
Houston Youth Activists (HYA)
Pretty Girls Rock
Texas NOW
Arizona Federation of Democratic Women (AFDW)
Arizona NOW
AZ Celebrates the 19th Amendment.
Central Phoenix • Inez Casiano NOW
Handmaids’ Resistance Phoenix
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJWAZ)
Refugee Aid
Uncage & Reunite Families Coalition
Women’s March Phoenix
Direct Support for Immigrants
NetworkNoVA
S K Burt Law
The Outrage
Central New York NOW
Charlottesville Virginia NOW
Monroe County Indiana NOW
Montana NOW
Nevada NOW
Southwest Idaho NOW
Utah NOW
Williamson County Texas NOW