Detention Watch Network creates Toolkit to Support Local Demands for Mass Release of People in ICE Custody

The Chicago-based grassroots organization Detention Watch Network has created an excellent toolkit for organizers who are doing Abolish ICE work in their community. 

The toolkit is entitled, Toolkit to Support Local Demands for Mass Release of People in ICE Custody.

The Introduction to this Toolkit provides a clear explanation for why the toolkit was created:

In response to the growing public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the United States government’s inadequate response, we have developed this working toolkit to help guide and support the work of organizations and individuals looking to demand the release of people in ICE custody. Organizations and individuals should assess their capacity and determine what strategies and targets fit best with the resources they have available and the number of people involved. This is by no means an exhaustive list of options and existing tools, its an attempt to centralize what has already been created and make it accessible to different local and regional contexts.

The toolkit includes:

• Strategies for federal, state, regional and local organizing work
• Templates & Resources for Lawyers
• Communication Resources
• Media Coverage and Resources to Support Your Demands
• Tracking Outbreaks in your Area
• Calls to Action from Organizations fighting Mass Incarceration
• Coordinated your Community to Welcome People being Released
• Existing Petitions/Calls to Action by State
• National Petitions

The resources and strategies included in this toolkit are very clear, practical, plus they push the sense of urgency that people in detention centers, jails or prisons, whether they are undocumented immigrants or victims of mass incarceration, should be released immediately because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Toolkit also is available in Spanish at this link.