2022-09-15 16:37:33 -0400
To: ICE - TACOMA NORTHWEST DETENTION CENTER
FREE RONALD!
Ronald Antonio Gomez is pleading to not be deported to El Salvador. In his own words, he says, “Ultimately I know I can’t get deported because I know I will suffer an early death”.
Many are unaware of the horrible situation taking place in El Salvador. The Salvadoran government, as Ronald himself describes, only views individuals as either citizens or gang members. Suspected gang members are being gathered in overcrowded prisons. Human rights groups have found that the Salvadoran government is considering people to be suspected gang members for ridiculous reasons, such as their appearance or where they live, and that police are arresting people simply to meet quotas. The president has even tweeted that he knows people are gang members solely because they have tattoos.
The story only gets worse. Human rights groups have found that when the Salvadoran government detains these people, some disappear for certain amounts of time, or die in custody. Individuals in prison lack food and proper bedding, and suffer from violence. El Salvador’s own president Nayib Bukele has unapologetically posted pictures of “gang members” who have been brutalized in prison.
The Salvadoran government claims they are trying to reduce the level of violence in their country by targeting gang members. However, the truth is that the Salvadoran government is only committing violence against its own people.
Ronald is being threatened with deportation to El Salvador. He knows if he is deported, his tattoos are enough to cause his death. Ronald wants you to know that he is a son to a single mother, a brother to three sisters, and a father to an 11-yr-old son who he wants to be there for. Please sign this petition to demand that Ronald not be sent to a country that is committing these horrific human rights violations. No one deserves this. America is Ronald’s home; he has been here since he was 6 years old.
Ronald must be freed from the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center, where he is suffering from many injustices as well. He was once strip-searched by ICE, which is an absolute violation. He was given food with garbage in it, and he does not have access to simple things like a microwave. He has also been put in solitary confinement because he stands up for himself and others that are detained and has ties to an organization here in Washington called La Resistencia, which advocates for the release of individuals in the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center. He has described that the conditions inside are also extremely unhygienic, which is especially concerning during a pandemic.
Ronald has told us that ICE does not see him or any individual at the detention center as human beings, they are only seen as numbers. Please sign this petition to show your support for Ronald, and ask that he not be deported and instead be released so he can be with his son and the rest of his family.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/19/1093477487/whats-behind-the-mass-detentions-in-el-salvador
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/rights-groups-criticize-el-salvadors-mass-gang-roundups-84455375
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Para un traducción a Español: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UuE0ZZ1KK3Tbwjh7EB7SzNr6Uq4mY7HH_O1kiAmNV5Y/edit?usp=sharing
Why is this important?
First and foremost, no one deserves to be removed from their home and sent to a country where they will likely die. Second, Ronald is a father, son, and brother. His family needs him alive and free. Third, Ronald is suffering from unjust conditions in the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center. No one should have to experience these conditions, especially during a pandemic. Ronald cannot be deported to El Salvador, or detained in a detention center. Free Ronald!