Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Follow us:

We know how much you value the nonprofit, independent journalism of Common Dreams. The only thing that keeps us going is support from readers like you. As some have been forced to cut back on giving, your contribution becomes even more important. So please, join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. Help fill the gap created by those who have been forced to cancel their monthly recurring donations. Without your help, we won’t survive.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to support our work—that time is now.

Our mission is simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.

But without the support of our readers, this model does not work and we simply won’t survive. It’s that simple.
We must meet our Mid-Year Campaign goal but we need you now.

Please, support independent journalism today.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. Without your help, we won’t survive.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Yvonne Nieves of El Paso, Texas demonstrates in front of the U.S. Border Patrol facility where lawyers reported that detained migrant children were held unbathed and hungry on June 27, 2019 in Clint, Texas.

Yvonne Nieves of El Paso, Texas demonstrates in front of the U.S. Border Patrol facility where lawyers reported that detained migrant children were held unbathed and hungry on June 27, 2019 in Clint, Texas. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

'We Owe These Vulnerable Populations More': California Lawmakers Call on Gov. Newsom to Divest State From Child Detention Profiteers

The open letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom cited the #WayfairWalkout as the impetus for the request

Eoin Higgins

A pair of California state lawmakers are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to divest the state's pension fund from businesses that work with federal immigration detentions facilities. 

State Assemblymember Cristina Garcia and state Senator Lena Gonzalez, both Democrats, made the request of Newsom in an open letter Wednesday that cited that day's walkout of employees of online retailer Wayfair in protest of the company's profiting off of child detentions. 

"I am asking that we, as a State follow the example of these brave workers and cease vesting in publicly held companies that contract with, or provide services to companies that operate detention centers," the letter reads. 

The letter cites conditions at the child prisons. As Common Dreams reported on Thursday, recent reports are showing those conditions are even worse than was previously thought. Customs and Border Protection child prisons were referred to by one expert as "torture facilities" in testimony for a lawsuit seeking an emergency restraining order against the conditions. 

In their letter, Garcia and Gonzalez call for California to lead the way to hold accountable those profiting from child detention.

"It is extremely important that California stop funding actions directly or indirectly through investment and state contracts," the pair wrote. "We owe these vulnerable populations more, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we are not contributing to the expansion of the current inhumane treatment of them."

Newsom had not publicly responded to the letter at press time.

Read the letter:

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Comments

"I'm sure this will be all over the corporate media, right?"
That’s what one longtime Common Dreams reader said yesterday after the newsroom reported on new research showing how corporate price gouging surged to a nearly 70-year high in 2021. While major broadcasters, newspapers, and other outlets continue to carry water for their corporate advertisers when they report on issues like inflation, economic inequality, and the climate emergency, our independence empowers us to provide you stories and perspectives that powerful interests don’t want you to have. But this independence is only possible because of support from readers like you. You make the difference. If our support dries up, so will we. Our crucial Mid-Year Campaign is now underway and we are in emergency mode to make sure we raise the necessary funds so that every day we can bring you the stories that corporate, for-profit outlets ignore and neglect. Please, if you can, support Common Dreams today.

 

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Latest News

See all
A driver is seen running into abortion rights defenders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 24, 2022.

Motorist 'Tried to Murder' Abortion Rights Advocates at Iowa Protest, Witnesses Say

Although one witness said the driver went "out of his way" to hit pro-choice protestors in the street, Cedar Rapids police declined to make an arrest.

Kenny Stancil ·

People lay Pride flags and flowers outside the gay bar where a gunman in Oslo killed two people and injured 21 on June 25, 2022.

'A Hate Crime': Oslo Pride Parade Canceled After Deadly Shooting at Gay Bar

A 42-year-old gunman has been charged with terrorism following what Norway's prime minister called a "terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people."

Kenny Stancil ·

Roe protest

'We WILL Fight Back': Outrage, Resolve as Protests Erupt Against SCOTUS Abortion Ruling

Demonstrators took to the streets Friday to defiantly denounce the Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority after it rescinded a constitutional right for the first time in U.S. history.

Brett Wilkins ·

Abortion rights activists hoist their signs outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2022.

80+ US Prosecutors Vow Not to Be Part of Criminalizing Abortion Care

"Criminalizing and prosecuting individuals who seek or provide abortion care makes a mockery of justice," says a joint statement signed by 84 elected attorneys. "Prosecutors should not be part of that."

Kenny Stancil ·

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, speaks during a hearing on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. Powell yesterday said the U.S. economy has a long way to go before fully recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and will need further support. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Progressives Rebuke Dem Leadership as Clyburn Dismisses Death of Roe as 'Anticlimactic'

"The gap between the Democratic leadership, and younger progressives on the question of 'How Bad Is It?' is just enormous."

Julia Conley ·

Most Popular

 
  1. Citing 'Deluge of New Evidence,' House Jan. 6 Committee Delays Hearings
  2. 'Unconscionable': House Committee Adds $37 Billion to Biden's $813 Billion Military Budget
  3. The Right-Wing Supreme Court Readies to Help Destroy the Planet
  4. Why Do Tens of Millions in US Support an Economic System That Doesn't Benefit Them?
  5. Study Shows Excess Corporate Profits in the US Have Become 'Widespread'
  6. Demanding Prosecution, Legal Experts Say This Is the 'Smoking Gun' to Nail Trump
  7. 'He Must Resign': Staff Texts Over Fake Elector Slates Implicate Ron Johnson
  8. Supreme Court Ruling Turns Separation of Church and State Into 'Constitutional Violation,' Warns Sotomayor
  9. 'We Won't Go Back!': Rapid-Response Protests Across US After Roe Reversal
  10. As Right-Wing Majority Shows Its Face, Confidence in Supreme Court Hits All-Time Low
Common Dreams Logo

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.