Prisoners strike on Day of the Dead

Tacoma, Wash. — Demonstrators protested migrant detention and deportations on Nov. 1, the Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos — the Latino/a counterpart to Halloween — in Tacoma. The four-day occupation outside the NW (immigrant) Detention Center was greeted by news from inside that 200 prisoners had just gone on hunger strike to protest brutal conditions.

The prisoners’ organization, Colectivo de Detenidos, had called the strike. These prisoners are continuing a struggle they have waged all year with numerous hunger strikes. Prisoners have been tortured by means of lack of medical care, along with other abuses.

NWDC Resistance/Resistencia organized the solidarity action in front of the prison. It included a Day of the Dead procession with demonstrators carrying coffins marked with the name of the prison private contractor, Geo. There was a House of Horrors the same size as a solitary confinement cell.

During the protest, there were ­family- friendly activities for families and other loved ones visiting prisoners those days.