A prayer service is planned in South Bend this weekend, calling for an end to ICE detention at the Miami Correctional Facility.
The site has been housing immigration detainees since October. But two people have died while detained there, and an IndyStar investigation has raised concerns about detainees’ medical care.
Carrie Bowie with the Michiana Alliance for Democracy calls the conditions “cruel and inhumane.” “That just sounds horrible to me – people being ill and collapsing and not being tended to in that prison,” Bowie said.
She says local faith groups and advocates will share immigrants’ stories, pray about what’s going on there, and encourage people to take action. “We’re going to offer people ways to write letters to the detainees and a way to sign up for a mutual aid network,” Bowie added.
Bowie says they want the state not to renew its contract with ICE and for officials to take better care of those housed at the Miami Correctional Facility. She says each detainee represents a family that’s in crisis.
“That’s a family that no longer has their main wage earner, so it’s upending families,” Bowie said.
Sunday’s prayer service will be held at 4:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ. It’s one of about 60 events planned around the state this weekend, coordinated by the Indiana Organizing Project, including prayer vigils, rallies and presentations.
