More than 200 people were in Staunton Sunday for what they called the Stop Torturing Children Rally – a protest over treatment of unaccompanied minors who claimed they were tied up and beaten by guards at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center.
About 250 people came to protest treatment of teenagers at the center – one of three in the U.S. with federal contracts to hold young refugees who had problems at less restrictive facilities. Jenny Kitchen, with the Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro Citizen Action Network said Americans should take responsibility for the violence that forced these teens to leave their homes in Central America.
“The U.S. itself played a key role … El Salvador’s government in a brutal civil war … fast tracked deportations.”
And Ron Wiley with the Charlottesville-area Immigrant Resource & Advocacy Coalition urged Virginians to do their part in protecting refugees.
“Work to end local jail cooperation with ICE – the modern-day Gestapo…keep families in tact. The Legal Aid Justice Center and the Washington & Lee …support them.” (applause)
The kids who were held at Shenandoah have now been deported, but they’re suing – claiming they were restrained and beaten or held in isolation. A preliminary hearing is set for federal district court on July 3rd. Another protest is planned today in Harrisonburg.
