“We Demand Freedom”: Immigrants on Strike in New Jersey Prison

Source: In These Times
by Luis Feliz Leon

“On a patch of sidewalk on a busy industrial corridor in Newark, federal agents with rifles, metal batons, flak vests, and balaclavas faced off against unarmed activists with cardboard signs and a bullhorn. Detained workers could be heard on the soccer field behind the prison walls, shouting in Spanish: ‘Libertad!’ (Freedom!) Since May 22, 300 of them are on a work stoppage and hunger strike. Over video chat, one worker told the crowd outside that they had stopped eating and working for as little as $1 an hour (or no pay at all) to demand an improvement in their living conditions. ​’But that’s not all we demand,’ he said. ‘We are also doing this to demand freedom. We’re not treated like people. We’re treated like animals.'” (05/29/26)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/new-jersey-prison-immigrants-strike-ice-trump