Standing Strong Sign Vigil

HELP US RAISE AWARENESS! Our group holds signs at places throughout Salem, where someone was abducted by ICE. • Please register to RSVP and get address. • Every Friday, rain or shine. • Signs are handed out and locations are assigned at a meeting spot to be disclosed. • Teams of two then set out for one hour of sign holding. • Bring a friend or we’ll assign you a partner. • After the hour is up, meet back at the original meeting spot to turn in signs and check in. Our purpose is not only to raise awareness of our neighbors being taken from us, but to hold sacred space and honor those who have been abducted and for their families who are dealing with the trauma of their loss. • We hold these signs for each and every person languishing in detention centers across the US. • We hold these signs in defiance of the fascism and the hate. • We hold these signs to use our white privilege, for those of us who have it, and be the best allies we can be. More about why we do this: ICE activity in Salem has resulted in many of our neighbors being abducted over the past 18 months. The exact number is difficult to obtain, as ICE does not share information, but the local Rapid Response Team and PIRC (Portland Immigration Rights Coalition) data supports the number as being over 100 since Trump took office. • Across the state, ICE has abducted over 2,500 individuals, 700 in August of this year. • Across the nation, ICE is ramping up numbers; also in August, 51,000 people were taken. • Most of which have no criminal record. • Abductees are being warehoused in over 200 privately owned detention centers in the US, where they are held for months, or years, in deplorable conditions. • There are documented cases of rape, abuse, malnutrition, bad water and food, restricted access to medical care and lawyers. • GEO Group and Core Civic; the corporations who own most of the detention centers, earn $150 - $175 per person per day. • Both corporations earned over 2 billion dollars in total revenu