Vigil In Solidarity With Migrant Women Detained by ICE

Submitted by the Event Organizer

A group of Bay Area residents outraged by recent news reports of forced sterilizations performed on migrant women detained at an ICE facility at the Irwin County Detention Center in GA will hold a vigil on Sept. 27 at the Lake Merritt amphitheater. The event is held in solidarity with the victims, who underwent hysterectomies without their knowledge or consent in an egregious human rights violation, and to show support for whistleblower Dawn Wooten, a brave nurse who brought their story to light.

Answering a call to action by Families Belong Together, we will host a vigil at a community memorial recently created by local artists and activists at Lake Merritt Amphitheater. The memorial is dedicated to those lives taken by police and vigilantes since the beginning of the George Floyd Rebellion on May 25th, 2020. The shocking news of forced hysterectomies is just the latest in centuries of human rights violations and attempted genocide, including forced sterilizations, exploitation of and experimentation on people of color and migrants. The sterilizations are also part of a long pattern of neglect and abuse nationwide. Since the global pandemic started, ICE has refused to take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, placing people at risk of a potentially deadly disease. ICE’s neglect shows that the only way to keep detainees safe is to release them and reunite them with their families.

We will gather socially distanced for a moment of silence, and to view a timeline of similar human rights violations. Local activists will discuss ways to take action.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.