John Washington writes about immigration and border politics, as well as criminal justice, photography, and literature. He is also an award winning translator, having translated Óscar Martinez, Anabel Hernández, and Sandra Rodriguez Nieto, among others. His book, The Dispossessed, on the global story of asylum, was published by Verso Books in 2020. Find more of his work at www.jblackburnwashington.com.
Immigrant rights advocates allege that ICE detainees are being coerced, sometimes violently, into signing their own removal papers and returned to a country that is arresting and beating them.
By one count, there have been 1,600 individuals participating in hunger strikes in the centers just since 2015. In one Louisiana center, three strikers are entering a dangerous phase.
