UFW Foundation: Rejection of expanding immigrant detention centers is a victory for ‘farm workers who deserve to live with peace of mind'

UFW Foundation Executive Director Diana Tellefson Torres issued the following statement following the city of McFarland Planning Commission’s 2-2 vote rejecting the proposal from the private prison company GEO Group to convert two local state prisons into immigrant detention centers. The plan would have increased detention capacity in facilities in the Central Valley by an additional 1,400 beds.

The UFW Foundation celebrates last night’s vote by the city of McFarland’s Planning Commission opposing the huge expansion of private immigration detention facilities proposed by the for-profit GEO Group.

The two motions to expand failed because hundreds of community members, farm workers and allies marched, told their stories and remained throughout the hearing that extended into late hours. The chants outside the city’s Veteran’s Hall moved the decision makers inside, a reminder that mobilization matters. Most of those who attended were immigrant farm workers who deserve to live with the peace of mind that they will make it home to their families after work.

We are proud to have witnessed a victory for all immigrants. There is no place for immigrant detention centers in the Central Valley and we will continue fighting against this and other anti-immigrant efforts in the communities that feed us.

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