Free Heartland Kids Friday Action

Hundreds of immigrant children are being detained in our backyard, and the jailer is a local charity. There are 5 child detention centers in Chicago, all of them run by the Heartland Alliance nonprofit. While Heartland has historically focused on anti-poverty and immigration issues, this hasn’t stopped them from taking millions of dollars per month from the federal government to imprison hundreds of children, nor has it stopped them from collaborating with ICE in getting their detainees’ families deported.

The Chicago DSA Free Heartland Kids campaign is fighting back and will protest outside their headquarters. Heartland’s deadline for renewing their detention contract is 2/1, so we need a push before then to remind their administration that as long as they keep running jails, we will keep making their lives harder.

Join us to continue demanding that Heartland and CEO David Sinski:
1. immediately cease intaking immigrant children into their detention centers;
2. immediately end their contract with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to detain immigrant children;
3. release and reunify the immigrant children in their physical custody with their sponsors and families in the United States as soon as possible without sharing those sponsors’ and families’ biometric data, documentation status, or any other personal information with ICE or any agency that shares information with ICE;
4. pledge to use their resources and power to fight for a true detention-free, deportation-free, and ICE-free zone in Chicago and the Chicagoland area.

This is a nonviolent action. We especially do not want to put participants who may be vulnerable on account of their documentation status at risk of arrest during this action. Ultimately, of course, the relevant authorities are responsible for how they choose to respond to our nonviolent action, but it is important that participants understand that a nonviolent action is what the the Free Heartland Kids campaign is engaging in for this week.

ALL ARE WELCOME! We will have signs, banners, leaflets, petitions, chants, and more depending on the time and day. You can show up with nothing but your principles, and we will have material and information to offer you. If you would like to bring your own signs, banners, leaflets, petitions, chants, and more, we welcome them!