Everyone deserves dignity and justice. But in the United States, 2.3 million people are locked away in prisons, jails, and detention centers, where they are subject to civil and human rights violations and a lack of access to adequate health care.
This Mother’s Day, the #FreeThemAll campaign will highlight the strength and resilience of mothers and caregivers forced to parent their children across walls–mothers in immigration detention who are separated from their children, mothers whose loved ones are in jail, and the incredible labor of all the mothers and caregivers who are leaders in the struggle for a more just world.
Immigration activists, prison abolitionists, and those calling to defund the police are organizing across the country under the call to #FreeThemAll. Together, we're calling for the immediate release of people from behind bars as we continue to work for a future without incarceration.
Get involved
1. Take action online.
Tell your governor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP): Protect incarcerated people from COVID-19 in prisons, jails, and detention centers!
2. Register: Care Across the Walls National Teach-In (May 6 online)
On May 6, at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. PT, join us online for a teach-in featuring learnings and calls to action from those of us confronting the unique challenges of trying to maintain the mother-child bond when separated by walls of incarceration. We will also learn from community-based activists and advocates about efforts we can join to overcome and dismantle these injustices as we work to #FreeThemAll. Sign up now.
3. Join a #FreeThemAll action in your community.
Between May 1 and May 9, AFSC programs across the country will host car caravans, protests, and Mother's Day events calling for the release of mothers and caregivers behind bars. We encourage you to attend an action in your community by searching this events page! Don't see an action near you? Organize your own with the help of our #FreeThemAll organizing toolkit.
4. Learn more about the call to #FreeThemAll.
Explore our resources below, including highlights from our "From Attica to Abolition" webinar, recommended readings, and more.
Learn more
How to talk about ending incarceration and detention
Use these tips from our recent messaging study to shape your conversations with others as well as your advocacy and outreach.
#FreeThemAll campaign gains momentum
On the anniversary of Attica uprising, thousands participate in national days of action.
Why #FreeThemAll
Instead of trying to “fix” the systems of incarceration we have, it is time for us to build something new.
Highlights: "From Attica to Abolition" webinar
Hear from Attica organizer Tyrone Larkins, environmental and racial justice organizer Siwatu Salama-Ra, immigrant rights and reproductive justice organizers, and AFSC staff Laura Magnani and Debbie Southorn. Plus, get our learning resource toolkit.
Love to Black Immigrants Teach-In & Letter Writing (Video)
Compounding Suffering During a Pandemic: A Case Study in ICE's Detention Failures
AFSC, Detention Resistance, and Pueblo Sin Fronteras provide an overview of the immigration detention system, and analyze the impact of COVID-19 on individuals in ICE detention at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, and the government’s failure at providing the necessary protections.
Why we support the call to #FreeThemAll
No one is served by keeping millions in cages—not in pandemic, not ever.
Attica Prison Uprising 101
Learn more about the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 using this primer for educators and organizers, created by By Mariame Kaba of Project NIA.
Protecting people in prison during COVID-19
AFSC's Jacqueline Williams discusses why we must free people from incarceration now while continuing our work to abolish prisons.
I'm an immigration attorney ill with COVID-19. But it's my detained clients' lives I fear for the most
As we jump through bureaucratic hoops and submit motion after appeal after petition, people are getting sicker and more scared, writes AFSC's Joelle Lingat.
COVID-19 cases are rising in U.S. prisons. I’m worried my father might be affected
Government officials must work to protect incarcerated people during this pandemic, writes Kharon Benson.
Call to reflection and worship to #FreeThemAll
See excerpts from the closing event of National Days of Action to #FreeThemAll
Take action
Protect people in prisons, jails, and detention centers from COVID-19!
Posters and graphics
Download our posters and graphics for actions, events, and sharing online.
Get resources to organize a #FreeThemAll action or event in your community.
