Madonna, Gracie Abrams, John Legend, and Other Celebrities Advocate for Ending ICE Detention Center Practices
In a significant show of solidarity, a group of prominent celebrities, including Madonna, Gracie Abrams, and John Legend, have united to demand the immediate closure of the ICE Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. An open letter voicing this urgent appeal was published on March 30 on Change.com.
The letter, which has received endorsements from well-known figures such as Billy Porter, Brandi Carlile, Darren Criss, and Kesha, asserts, “No child should be locked in an immigration detention center.”
In their statement, the signatories express their profound concerns about the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, describing it as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility where children and families face traumatic and unsafe conditions. “Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights,” the letter states.
The plea further outlines various abuses within the facility, referencing court documents that reveal serious deficiencies, including a lack of clean water, spoiled food, inadequate medical care, and the unlawful separation of families. “The harms of detaining children” are emphasized, including instances of retaliation against families advocating for better treatment.
“Children belong in schools and on playgrounds, not in detention centers,” the letter adds. It calls on both the federal government and CoreCivic to act promptly: “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.”
Billboard has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment regarding these allegations.
As of now, the petition remains open for signatures and has already garnered over 4,000 supporters. The Dilley facility serves as a primary detention site for many families apprehended by ICE, with reports indicating that during the first year of the Trump administration, over 2,300 children were taken into custody alongside their parents.
This letter represents just one of the many ways that celebrities have voiced their opposition to ICE’s practices since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, characterized by extensive deportations and aggressive actions against immigrant populations. Last year, artists including Tyler, the Creator and Olivia Rodrigo publicly condemned ICE’s operations in Los Angeles, while numerous high-profile figures criticized the agency’s conduct in Minneapolis following the fatal shootings of two residents by ICE officers.
