1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand immediate action to stop the mass detention of immigrants and address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in facilities across the country. What is happening in our name violates fundamental principles of due process and human dignity. The detention population has exploded from approximately 40,000 people before January 2025 to over 70,000 immigrants currently held in 224 facilities. Two Fifth Circuit judges, Edith Jones and Kyle Duncan, recently approved a policy allowing mass arrest and indefinite detention of noncitizens without the right to release on bond, despite over 700 cases where at least 225 judges, including 23 Trump appointees, ruled this policy likely violates the law and due process rights. This policy affects millions of non-citizens who have lived in the U.S. for generations, never committed crimes, and pose no flight risk or public safety threat. The medical care crisis has reached catastrophic levels. ICE stopped paying third-party medical providers on October 3, 2025, and won't process claims until at least April 30, 2026. The Department of Veterans Affairs terminated its agreement with ICE on the same date after providing medical care support since 2002. This has left ICE unable to provide dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, and chemotherapy. ICE officials themselves described this as an "absolute emergency," yet no solution has been implemented. Three people have already died at Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss Army base in Texas, including Geraldo Lunas Campos whose death was ruled a homicide. The camp has violated at least 60 federal standards for immigrant detention according to ICE's own oversight unit. The administration is now building a national system of mega centers holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, funded by $45 billion allocated in the July 2025 budget reconciliation bill. I urge you to use every tool available to defund this detention expansion, restore medical care immediately, and ensure independent oversight of all facilities. These are crimes against humanity being committed in our name, and history will judge our response.