Women in U.S. Detention Begin Hunger and Work Strike

March 31, 2015

At least 80 women asylum seekers from Central America being held at Karnes Family Detention Camp in Karnes, Texas, began a hunger strike on Monday, March 30. On Tuesday, March 31, they also started a work strike. Prompted by the deplorable conditions they and their children are experiencing, the women are asking for release of their children and themselves.

Many women participating in the protest have been held at Karnes for more than 10 months. Reportedly, all have passed credible fear interviews required by the Department of Homeland Security to grant asylum-seeking status for newcomers. The women at Karnes say they will strike until they are released from detention. Read their signed letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

UUSC, the Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (a UUSC partner in Texas), and Grassroots Leadership, a nonprofit that works to end for-profit incarceration, are supporting the women and children in Karnes and their call for release.