A group calling itself the Free Them All VA Coalition is pushing Northern Virginia Congressman Don Beyer to “declare his support” for the closure of the Farmville Detention Center, a privately owned and operated ICE detention facility in Central Virginia.
Gotta say here at the outset, I’m not sure why they’re picking on Beyer specifically here.
From the letter that was sent to Beyer, and made public, this week, it seems that the group thinks Beyer, a Democrat in the minority party in the House, has more power than he does, which ain’t much.
“To prevent more deaths and cruelty against our community members, we call on you to move expeditiously and to apply the full weight of your office to push for the closure of the Farmville Detention Center,” reads the letter, which is signed by representatives of 25 human-rights groups.
The full weight of the office of a minority party member in the House is equivalent to the proverbial pitcher of warm spit.
The letter notes that a group of Senate Democrats led by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders backed an effort last year, when the Biden administration still ran ICE, to close the Farmville ICE facility, and three other privately run ICE facilities.
The senators, in their own letter, dated May 15, 2024, noted “horrific conditions” at the facilities they were targeting, “such as ‘yellow drinking water,’ forced sleep deprivation, prolonged solitary confinement, inadequate medical care, limited access to legal counsel, and violent retaliation against those who complain.”
“The federal government should not pay private facilities with continuously problematic conditions,” the lawmakers wrote on the topic back in 2024. “Upon termination of contracts, ICE should pursue community-based alternatives to detention, which provide immigrants with resources that help them integrate into their communities and stay with their families.”
For what it’s worth, probably not much, I’d put my attention toward the Senate, like, say, pushing Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and who is familiar with Farmville – he visited Kilmar Abrego Garcia there in the summer; or Tim Kaine, whose power and influence includes being able to reopen the federal government; and not Beyer, who, no offense, is a back-bench Democrat in the House.
But that’s just me.
“In this moment of growing authoritarianism and unchecked terrorization of immigrant communities, we are calling on you to lead with principle and conviction for the sake of your constituents, exercise your historic oversight and legislative power, and honor your campaign promise of fighting to ban private prisons,” the letter notes.
ICYMI
“It is imperative that the Trump administration be held accountable for its injustices against our community members. Terminating CoreCivic’s contract, permanently closing the Farmville Detention Center, and freeing our loved ones would be critical first steps toward justice and dignity.”
CoreCivic, the second-largest private corrections company in the country, is the private owner of the 736-bed Farmville ICE facility, which it bought in June for $67 million.
The company’s PR team told me in a statement that it “takes seriously our obligation to adhere to all applicable federal detention standards in our ICE-contracted facilities, including FDC.”
“We operate with a significant amount of oversight and accountability, including being monitored by ICE officials on a daily basis. FDC is also audited regularly and without notice several times a year, and we’re routinely visited by elected officials, attorneys, families and volunteers,” the PR team related in the statement.
Standard corporate-speak, just doing their job there.
I get it that the stakes on this are obviously raised from where they were in 2024, before ICE was turned into an all-out modern-day Gestapo.
Credit to these folks for trying to bring attention to a serious issue.
Thing is, Don Beyer isn’t going to get an ICE facility closed.
Aim higher.
(Ahem, Trump.)
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Chris Graham
