More than 30 community members, including people recently released from immigration detention, rallied outside the San Francisco offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on August 29, calling on the new Acting Field Office Director, Polly Kaiser, to meet with and respond to the demands of those detained at Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde ICE detention centers in Kern County. 

Since July 1, 2024, detainees at these facilities have been engaged in a labor strike and successive hunger strikes. The most recent hunger strike began on August 1 with 62 participants across both centers. On August 26, the detainees announced they were pausing the strike due to serious health risks caused by a COVID-19 outbreak at the facilities.

Protesters chanted “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!” and held signs reading “Closing ICE detention is good for communities!” and “END THE ICE CONTRACT, FREE THEM ALL!” as well as a large banner listing detained strikers’ five demands, which include ending the ICE contracts at Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde. 

Both Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde are operated by the for-profit prison corporation GEO Group (GEO) through a contract worth $1.5 billion. According to a press release from the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, conditions are abysmal, leading people detained there to launch labor or hunger strikes during each of the past three years, Members of Congress to sign multiple letters calling for the termination of these ICE contracts, lawsuits, two recent civil rights complaints, and more.

Oscar Ernesto Lopez Santos, who has been detained at Golden State Annex for about a year, spoke to the crowd via phone, his voice amplified through a megaphone. He described the lack of medical care and the mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak at Golden State Annex.

Santos said he has contracted COVID-19 twice while in detention. During his last infection, six people in the A4 dorm tested positive for the virus, and testing only began after two detainees were sent to the emergency room with severe symptoms. The dorm was cleared, and the COVID-19-positive individuals were quarantined. However, they were released from isolation after five days without retesting.

“It is inhumane for ICE and GEO to treat us as if we are nothing. They fail to keep the safety of this institution and the safety of the detainees. I was in bed for about two to three days with a fever, cough, shivers, and a bloody nose and all they gave me to take was Tylenol. This is a call for outside help because we matter also. ICE and GEO facilities cannot continue to mistreat us and give us poor medical attention,” said Santos.

Some protesters wore signs sharing the stories of detainees at Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex, with tape over their mouths to symbolize what they described as attempts by ICE and GEO Group to silence them. One sign read:

“I’m Loba and I experience transphobia and homophobia in ICE detention. I’ve been placed in solitary confinement for speaking up for my rights, discriminated against, and excluded from participating in the work program because of my gender expression. To ICE I’m only an A#, to GEO I’m $.”

As the rally neared its end, a group of advocates attempted to deliver a letter to Polly Kaiser, the Acting Field Office Director for San Francisco ICE, urging her to meet with the detainees on strike and address their demands. The group was turned away, and ICE officials refused to accept the letter.

Jose Ruben Hernandez, who was detained for over a year at both Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex and took part in past labor and hunger strikes, addressed the crowd with a megaphone, stating, “While we’re disappointed that FOD Polly Kaiser did not come down, we are not surprised. DHS and ICE have a track record of delaying and ignoring our demands for answers. ICE and GEO have proven they are not committed to improving conditions, and things are only getting worse. The only real solution is to end detention.”

Following the rally, several advocates and former detainees visited the office of Senator Alex Padilla to deliver copies of recent complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 

The complaints cited allegations of excessive force, sexual abuse, and other violations at the detention centers. They also urged the Senator to call for an end to ICE contracts at Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex, which are up for renewal in December.

The strikers’ demands for Acting San Francisco Field Office Director Polly Kaiser and ICE Director Patrich Lechleitner are:

• End the ICE Contracts for Golden State and Mesa Verde
• Freedom
• End Solitary Confinement
• Stop Violating Your Own Standards
• Free Phone Calls to call loved ones and lawyers

Kern Sol News reached out to the Mesa Verde detention center, who chose not to provide a comment, and the Golden State Annex but didn’t receive a response.