Madonna, John Legend, Pedro Pascal and many more have signed an open letter calling for the closure of an ICE detention centre in Texas.
Hundreds of young children and their parents have been detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in recent months.
“No child should be locked in an immigration detention centre. We, the undersigned, call for the immediate closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention centre in Texas and an end to the detention of children and families,” the letter stated.
“Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights.”
The letter continued: “We urge the federal government and CoreCivic to close the Dilley facility immediately, return children and families to the homes and communities they were taken from and to end child imprisonment now.
“Our commitment does not end with closure. We demand transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States.”
Among the signatories are Brandi Carlile, Kesha, Billy Porter, Keke Palmer, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Stiller, Elliot Page and Jane Fonda.
According to NBC News,“children have complained of limited education, lights that never turn off and moldy food” at the detention centre and “more than 2,300 children” have been held with their parents for several weeks or months.
Calls condemning the actions of ICE have grown more widespread in recent months following the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in January, who were both US citizens, at the hands of ICE agents.
Bruce Springsteen has been a particularly vocal opponent, calling for ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis” and permitting the use of ‘Born In The USA’ in an anti-ICE video. He also wrote an anti-ICE protest song ‘Streets Of Minneapolis‘ which had its live debut during a surprise appearance at a benefit show hosted by Tom Morello.
Other artists and celebrities who have spoken out include Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Green Day, Neil Young, Moby, Zara Larsson, musician and Stranger Things star Joe Keery, Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal, Duran Duran, Dave Matthews and more.
More recently, Radiohead issued a statement condemning the unauthorised use of a cover of their song ‘Let Down’ in a video by the Department of Homeland Security, which runs ICE.
Last November, Olivia Rodrigo also called out the organisation for using a section of her song ‘All-American Bitch’ in a video depicting ICE officers forcibly tackling and detaining people.