As many as 1,200 detained immigrants are currently on hunger strike in Tacoma, Washington, according to activist Moru Mara. The undocumented workers being held in the Northwest Detention Center have passed a handwritten list of demands to a lawyer. Their demands:
-Better food
-Better treatment
-Better pay
-Lower commissary
-Fairness
The struggle for rights for the undocumented has, in recent years, taken on an even more spirited and militant tone, as young “Dreamers” have fearlessly stepped out of the shadows to demand an end to second-class status.
At the same time, we have also seen in recent years a resurgence of prison organizing, most notably the Pelican Bay State Prison Security Housing Unit inspired hunger strikes.
This hunger strike in Tacoma would appear to be a courageous expression of the struggles of both the undocumented and prisoners. These brave hunger strikers in Tacoma deserve the support of all progressive and revolutionary people.
