Eee WeARTLANO KAS

MIGRANT DETENTION
Faciuty unpe
CONSTRUCTION

STORMED IN CHICAGO
Om MAT OAY

 
THE FOLLOWING REPORT DOCUMENTS A
DEMONSTRATION OF ROUGHLY TWO HUNDRED
ON May 4%, 2020 In CHICAGO AGAINST THE
UEARTLAND ALLIANCE, A NON-PROFIT THAT
HOLDS MIGRANT CHILDREN CAPTIVE IN DE-
TENTION,

“This story was fret published on the website J4 Gaigg Doom (au-
thor unknown) The original version is found atthe ult

_hups://stagoingdown.org/vacan-migrant-cild4al-building-
‘stormed .in-chicago-on-may-cay/
1, 2029 a group of outraged neighbors, aboli-
and other ant-racists cametogether to storm

the gates and shake up a child detention center own
by Heartland Alliance, under renovation in Chicago's Rog-
1s Park neighborhood. The child prison ic temporarily un-
occupied. According to the local news, “More than three
dozen immigrant children at a Heartland Alliance shel-
ter...have teoted positive for COVID-19."This torture
chamber located at 1627 W Morse has been used to isolate
and punish migrant children who attempted to escape or
rebel egairst their captars in other facilities. The following,
‘communique was thrown across the surrounding streets
and flung from the rooftop of the facili

  

  

 
‘The text of the distributed statement reads:

We are occupyiny this building in solidarity
with all of the rebellicus children who have
been detained here in the past, those who
are still being detained elsewhere, incar-
cerated people everywhere, and all who con-
tinue to experience violence at the hands of
the state. With each passing dey of this
pandemic, we realize, as some have long

known, th:

 

ceronavirus ia not the only thing
killing us — it’s effects are weeponized by
systems we are tcld to trust and rely on but
which axe actively harming and disposing of
deartiend Alliance, a non-profit organiza-
tion masquerading it’s sinister progran of
social control as altruistic endeavor, jails
nigrant childzen in all corners of this city,
including right here at 1627 W Norse. This
detention center is currently empty, not be-
cause deartlend has started releasing kids

 

 

 
to their tamilies but because the brick and
mortar cage is beiny renovated and re-se-
cured to continue detaining and traumatizing
children or to transform it into another type
of carceral facility to hold our houseless
neighbors vhile thousands of CHA units re- _
main vecant. Resardless, this building's
Purpose will be to surveil, control, and

criminalize.

 
There are currently 42 cases of COVID-19 at Heartland’ fa-
cilities. Even before these numbers were confirmed, soli:
darity demos have been denouncing what in cages is inev-
itable.

Chicago Rising

 

“once the children are taken into custody, Homans
‘Securiy charges the genocide survivors w/ immigration
climes, intisles deportation proceedings, & transfers them
te detention centers like those run by @heartiandhelps in
#Chicego," by @ittevilagesn: tsgoingdown orgligh-to-

 

‘The Fightto Close Child Detention Centers in Chicago It.
Hessian alkance oparatas at Inst nina dtesion centers for
‘migrant chlaronin the Chicagoland ares. The chikten intnese

 

Oa S21 FM-Nov 4. 2018

e
‘Asa result Heartland has claimed that singing to the chil-
dren, demanding their freedom and expressing love, butt.
frightens and endangers them. Meanwhile, those on the
‘outside witness smiles, waves, hands forming the shapes of
hearts, signs reading ‘thank you’ ané ‘i love you’. At ¢ re-
cent demo a written plea for HELP was launched towards
the crowd standing below after which Heartland had cov-
xed their windows with tarps to stop children from inter-
acting with us. Thelr flustered responses reflect the inten
sity of our connection and reveals an important truth: soli-
darity is powerful and our collective action is starting to
create some cracks across the prison walls.

 

 
 
 
We are destroying the illusion that Heartland’s baby jail
business is anything but an insidious overlap between the
non-profit and prison industrial complexes. The pandemic
has laid bare this tortured interplay exposing an avalanche
‘of contradictions. It is within these cracks that wo begin to
‘grow new worlds, Werlds without incarceration, without
domination, in which we no longer rely on systems that
seek to extinguish anid exterminate our autonomy and joy,
and which reject separation from our greater power: each
other.