We organized the first freedom vigil outside Alligator Alcatraz 40+ weeks ago. Now, there are 14 vigils around the U.S.! Can you chip in even just $1 to help fight Trump's inhumane detention machine?
More than forty weeks ago, organizers from The Workers Circle came to the Florida Everglades to hold a vigil outside of the "Alligator Alcatraz" ICE detention facility. We knew there were people detained there, 32 to a cage, who couldn't even get word to their families about where they'd been taken.
We didn't know how long we'd be holding the vigil, only that we would be there for as long as it takes—because we refuse to be silent in the face of Donald Trump's inhumane detention machine.
For 40 consecutive weeks, we've been holding our freedom vigil outside of the facility cruelly and aptly named Alligator Alcatraz. Forty weeks of showing up in the rain or in furnace-like heat. Forty weeks of organizing, demanding change, and refusing to let a facility designed to be invisible stay that way.
When we started our vigil, no one had before organized an event exactly like ours. We reached out across south Florida to build a durable local coalition of immigrants, congregations, veterans, small business leaders, unions, students, and cultural and community organizations—people of all political stripes and more backgrounds than we can list—because we knew this had to be broadbased to have impact and be sustainable. It wasn't easy, and we're so proud of our team that tackled uncertainty and did the hard work to stand up for what's right.
Now, there are freedom vigils outside of 14 ICE detention facilities, jails, and other sites of harm across the country—from Tallahassee, to Seattle, to Battle Creek, to Sacramento—organized by people who saw what our sustained, visible, week-after-week presence can accomplish.
Families of the people who were abducted and detained have told us that our vigils make them feel like they haven't been abandoned. Lawyers representing people being detained have said that they know we're out there, and it gives them hope and strength to keep fighting for the rights of those inside.
Despite what the Trump administration wants you to believe, when the people of this country are faced with inhumane cruelty, we don't look away; we fight back. We choose dignity over degradation, community over cruelty, and our Constitution over cages.
The Workers Circle was founded by Jewish immigrants and refugees 125 years ago who undertook the daunting task of achieving real social and economic justice in a new nation. Our work of demanding democracy and fighting fascism is rooted in more than 100 years of activism, and it's absolutely critical today. Can we count on your support?
Please chip in today to show your solidarity with our freedom vigil organizers and community members fighting injustice.
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