A formidable coalition of actors, artists, filmmakers, physicians, advocacy leaders, and policy experts have penned a powerful letter demanding the "immediate closure" of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas—a facility that bears a chilling resemblance to a prison and is used to detain children and their families after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the United States. This letter, which echoes the call for the federal government and private prison operator CoreCivic to take immediate action, has garnered the signatures of Madonna, Pedro Pascal, Rachel Hollis, John Legend, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Brittney Griner, America Ferrera, Elliot Page, Raffi, Jane Fonda, Brandi Carlile, Hannah Einbinder, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Wunmi Mosaku, Glennon Doyle, Billy Porter, Keke Palmer, Hasan Minhaj, Katie Couric, Susan Sarandon, and numerous others.
The letter reads, "Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect, and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity, and human rights. Court filings of abuse against children have included refusals to provide clean water, rotten food contaminated with worms, dangerous medical neglect, sleep deprivation, denial of legal counsel, the separation of children from their families, and retaliation against families protesting the inhumane conditions. Children belong in schools and on playgrounds, not in detention centers."
This impassioned plea comes amidst mounting scrutiny of the facility over the past several months. Reports have consistently highlighted unsafe conditions within the detention center—including recent outbreaks of measles, contaminated food and water supplies, inadequate medical care, severe mistreatment of detainees, and illegal imprisonment. The facility has garnered widespread attention after federal authorities sent 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos there following a controversial ICE raid in Minneapolis. Images of Ramos being taken into custody while wearing a Spider-Man backpack went viral.
Rachel Hollis, a beloved educator and entertainment personality who has been speaking out about Dilley and the facility's dire conditions, stated: "Every child deserves to feel safe and be treated with dignity. We can all agree that no child should be locked in an immigration detention center and subjected to these cruel conditions. This is not who we want to be."
The letter and its growing list of signatories (edited to highlight names from the entertainment industry) is below:
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**Close Dilley ICE Detention Center: Protect Children**
No child should be locked in an immigration detention center. We urge the federal government and CoreCivic to close the Dilley Immigration Processing Center immediately—an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention center in Texas—and end the detention of children and families. Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect, and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity, and human rights.
The harms of detaining children are well-documented. Court filings of abuse against children have included refusal to provide clean water, rotten food contaminated with worms, dangerous medical neglect, sleep deprivation, denial of legal counsel, separation from their families, and retaliation against families protesting inhumane conditions. Children belong in schools and on playgrounds—not in detention centers.
We demand transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States. Our commitment does not end with closure; it demands an end to child imprisonment now and the return of children and families to their homes and communities.
Children belong in schools and on playgrounds, not in detention centers. We urge the federal government and CoreCivic to close the Dilley facility immediately, return children and families to the homes and communities they were taken from and to end child imprisonment now. Our commitment does not end with closure. We demand transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States.
Sign on to help protect children and their families.
Abdi Nazemian, artist
Abby Wambach, artist
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, artist
Ali Wentworth, artist
Aisha Tyler, artist
Al Madrigal, artist
America Ferrera, artist
Anna Akana, artist
Aron Accurso, artist
Ariana DeBose, artist
Ashlyn Harris, artist
Ayo Edebiri, artist
Ben Stiller, artist
Billy Porter, artist
Bobby Lopez, artist
Brandi Carlile, artist
Breanna Stewart, athlete
Brendan Hines, artist
Brittney Griner, athlete
Busy Philipps, artist
Carrie Coon, artist
Celine Song, artist
Cherien Dabis, artist
Chris Perfetti, artist
Christina Ricci, artist
Cynthia Nixon, artist
Cobie Smulders, artist
Constance Wu, artist
Darren Criss, artist
Desi Perkins, artist
Diego Luna, artist
Donovan Patton, artist
Drew Scott, artist
Elaine Wentworth, artist
Elizabeth Banks, artist
Elliot Page, artist
Eva Longoria, artist
Frances Fisher, artist
Gabor Maté, artist
Gina Torres, artist
Glennon Doyle, artist
Gracie Abrams, artist
Grant Gustin, artist
Hannah Einbinder, artist
Hasan Minhaj, artist
Ilana Glazer, artist
Indigo Girls (Emily Saliers, Amy Ray), artist
Janicza Bravo, artist
Jane Fonda, artist
Javier Bardem, artist
Jen Tullock, artist
Jessica M Garcia, artist
Jesse Peretz, artist
John Cusack, artist
John Legend, artist
Jordan Walker Ross, artist
Josh Dela Cruz, artist
Katie Couric, artist
Kaitlin Becker, artist
Kathryn Grody, artist
Keke Palmer, artist
Kesha, artist
King Princess, artist
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, artist
Lance Bass, artist
Lena Dunham, artist
Leo Gonzalez, artist
Loryn Brantz, artist
Madonna, artist
Maggie Gyllenhaal, artist
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, artist
Mandy Patinkin, artist
Mark Ruffalo, artist
Melina Matsoukas, artist
Melissa Barrera, artist
Michelle Williams, artist
Mickey Sumner, artist
Morgan Spector, artist
MUNA (Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, Josette Maskin), artist
Ms. Rachel, artist
Natasha Lyonne, artist
Nick Gonzalez, athlete
Nicola Coughlan, artist
Parvati Shallow, artist
Pamela Adlon, artist
Pedro Pascal, artist
Peter Sarsgaard, artist
Poppy Liu, artist
Raffi, artist
Ramy Youssef, artist
Richa Moorjani, artist
Paul Feig, artist
Poorna Jagannathan, artist
Ravayna Coe, artist
Rebecca Hall, artist
Riley Keough, artist
Sara Bareilles, artist
Sara Wiles, Artist
Shepard Fairey, artist
Sohla and Ham El-Waylly, artist
Sophia Bush, artist
Steve Boyer, artist
Steve Burns, artist
Tatiana Maslany, artist
Tommy Dorfman, artist
Wunmi Mosaku, artist
Xochitl Gonzalez, artist
Yasmin Maya, artist
Zainne Saleh, artist
