[STATEMENT] Stop the detention and repression of immigrants! Free José now!
IMA Global Statement to Release José Medina Andrade and all undocumented immigrants from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
20th February 2025
The International Migrants Alliance (IMA) Global releases this statement to demand the immediate release of José Medina Andrade and all undocumented immigrants from the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay.
Like many others detained in US prisons and Guantanamo Bay, José fled from Venezuela due to threats on his life. He is a young man of 29 years of age and he has two kids, a wife, a sister and brother-in-law in the US all fighting for his liberation. When he first arrived seeking asylum with his family, they were all detained and separated immediately. José and his family endured horrible conditions while being detained including insufficient food for themselves and their sister’s baby. José deserves to be reunited with his family and given asylum in a safe community. His story is one of many migrants that shows the inhumane, unfair, and unjust immigration system currently in play even prior to a Trump presidency.
Since February 4, the Trump administration has detained more than 100 immigrants in a US military detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Established in January 2002 under George W. Bush’s “War on Terror” campaign, the camp is notorious for inhumane conditions—especially routine abuse and torture—of detainees. It has been condemned as a site of unrelenting human rights violations.
Trump announced that the camp will hold “high threat” and “worst of the worst” criminals, but according to U.S. federal court records, almost all of the identified detainees have no crimes on their records except for illegal entry, with others only bearing minor offences, such as allegedly “skipping parole” in the case of José. Detainees are also denied access to their families or legal aid, which violates the detainees’ rights to legal representation under the US Constitution.
Private prison stocks have soared since Trump won the election, and prison companies’ most significant contracts are with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2023, 43% of Geo Group’s (a major private prison company) revenue came from ICE. On the first day of his presidency, Trump reversed an executive order that banned private prison contracts with the Justice Department. After the reversal, the Geo Group indicated it was already anticipating an increase in government business.
Consecutive US government administrations throughout history have enacted fascist policies against immigrants which deprive them of their rights and cause immense harm to peaceful communities in the name of ‘national security’. It is getting more and more evident that these policies are enacted to generate profit for the corporations sitting in government positions, and are completely irrelevant to national security. The IMA joins the call of all migrants and immigrants in the US to stop the criminalisation of undocumented peoples, expose the profit-driven prison industrial complex, and to immediately release our friend José Medina Andrade.
Stop the detention and repression of migrants and immigrants now!
Free José now!
Stop separating families!
End the violent deportation machine that profits off of migrants!
Sign this petition created by the IMA US Chapter:
and contact the congressman Vicente Gonzalez and Adam Smith:
Congressman Vicente Gonzalez Contact:
Phone: Washington, D.C. Office, (202)-225-2531. Brownsville District Office, (956)-544-1884. Weslaco District Office, (956)-682-5545. Kingsville District Office, (956)-544-1884
Submit our petition: https://gonzalez.house.gov/services/help-federal-agency
Congressman Adam Smith Contact:
Phone: Washington, D.C. Office, (202)-225-8901. Renton District Office, (425)-793-5180
Tell them to #freejose and #freethemall!
