BIRMINGHAM, AL, March 25th, 2022 - The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ) celebrates the closing of the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama. Etowah, considered one of the worst detention centers in the country, has long been a center of great concern due to the inadequacy of the facilities and the unreasonable conditions faced by those detained there.

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For years, ACIJ has worked alongside allied organizations like Adelante Alabama Worker Center, American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama (ACLU), and Detention Watch Network on the campaign “Shut Down Etowah” organizing and mobilizing to end the human rights abuses at the Etowah County Detention Center.

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“This is a great victory to end the detention and separation of immigrant families in the United States. This is the beginning of the closure of more detention centers in infamous conditions,” said Ana Delia Espino, Executive Director of ACIJ. "There is no doubt that there is power in the movement, we will continue fighting until all people in this country are treated with dignity", Espino added.