Otay Mesa Detainees Face New Challenges in Communicating With Outside World | KQED

"Detainees soon started throwing messages over the wall. They were written notes attached to items like lotion and shampoo bottles. Often the messages would simply be their A Numbers - that's short for Alien Numbers - or the identification assigned to people who aren't U.S. citizens. With those numbers, organizers can add money to the detainees commissary and phone accounts."

"The nation has watched the violent manner in which many immigrants and citizens alike have been taken into custody by your officers and your agents. In addition to that, 32 people died while in ICE custody last year, and at least eight more have died in the first seven weeks of this year. The numbers are a big increase from prior years."

Detainees at immigration facilities have been communicating with outside organizers by throwing messages over walls, with notes containing their Alien Numbers (A Numbers) attached to items like lotion and shampoo bottles. These identification numbers allow organizers to add money to detainees' commissary and phone accounts. After initial reporting, detention facilities restricted rec time during vigils and prevented messages from being passed over fences. Organizers adapted by using apps to text with identified detainees. Simultaneously, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced Senate scrutiny following the deaths of two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. Senators questioned her leadership regarding detention facility conditions and rising death rates in ICE custody, with 32 deaths recorded last year and eight more in the first seven weeks of the current year.

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