Berks Organizing Workgroup held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 2, at First Unitarian Church in Reading, PA. Several Administrative members presented to the public updates on recent jail board and county commissioner meetings, media coverage, local protests, and recent DHS sightings. The presentation also explained details on how to break ICE collaboration at the local level while explaining 287g agreements, judicial warrants, and detainer forms. The group then learned p

Written by Jane Palmer Happy Memorial Day, This is my dad, Alfred Brian Palmer, who did not die in the service of his country (also, he was Australian) but he knew first hand what hell it was to be in prison camp. During World War II, he was imprisoned by the Italians and the Germans, and lost his right arm during one of many escapes. It's from him I learned to be bold. We are called to be bold now – to stand against fascism in all it's forms, including Berks County's quiet,

UPDATE (5/8/26) SUNDAY: Join ALDEA for a peaceful vigil at the home of Erasmo Zavala Almanza, a Berks County grandfather, caregiver, and cooperating witness in a domestic violence homicide case who is currently detained by ICE. From ALDEA: We are planning a vigil this Mother's Day (Sunday 5/10) at 4:00 PM at the home of Erasmo & Maria. This family lost their daughter to domestic violence in an incident where their infant granddaughter was also shot. Erasmo, the grandfather, i

IF YOU WITNESS ICE ACTIVITY IN BERKS COUNTY, CALL THE BURN RAPID RESPONSE HOTLINE AND GIVE AS MUCH DETAIL AS YOU CAN. HOTLINE: 610-850-9930 We need to put an end to human warehousing. DHS/ICE purchased an unused warehouse located at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township near I-78 and a closed distribution center in Tremont, Schuylkill County, reported Spotlight PA. ICE plans to convert the Upper Bern warehouse, originally designed to handle about 200 workers over three sh

We want ICE completely out of Berks, root and branch — we want a county where all of our neighbors, regardless of status, can live without fear of state-sanctioned violence. Communities across the country are already winning this fight. We can too. On April 25, 2026 — the National Day of Action to Stop ICE Warehouse Detention — Berks residents gathered at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading, Pennsylvania for Disappeared in Berks, a vigil and town hall honoring

This heart-wrenching letter to Gov. Shapiro was sent from the wife of a Berks County resident who lives mere miles from the proposed ICE warehouse. The trauma of needless ICE detention and the pain of family separation is evident. (edited to protect identities) February 25, 2026 Dear Governor Shapiro, My name is Maria. My husband has been subject to prolonged detention– over eight months–at the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center and transferred by ICE through multiple sta

UPDATE: Angela Della Valle was reunited with husband Carlos on April 28 after 258 Days Separated by Prolonged Detention. "Every day, Angela Della Valle drives an hour through central Louisiana’s yellow-pine hills to visit her husband at Winn Correctional Center, in the middle of the Kisatchie National Forest. The former state prison now houses immigration detainees. She pulls up to the gate as sunlight filters through the forest foliage. After driving through the first securi

Dear Prison Board, We have questions. You, the members of the Berks County Prison Board, are responsible for the safe-keeping, discipline, and employment of prisoners, and the government and management of the Berks County Jail, where upwards of 700 people are held every day at a cost to taxpayers of more than $52 million annually. As you well know, more than half of all bookings into the jail are for misdemeanors or local ordinance violations, and three quarters of bookings a

Congressman Dan Meuser wrote this opinion piece on March 27 detailing the assurances he's received from DHS about the warehouses in Upper Bern and Tremont. His tone suggests that we all just relax because everything is gonna be alright. Seriously, Dan? As if we don't know by now that DHS doesn't obey rules or honor promises, written or otherwise. These are the same folks who got evicted from their offices in Lehigh County because they didn't pay the rent! We can't judge the s

On March 28, 2026, at 11th and Rockland Streets and in downtown Kutztown, thousands of Berks Countians showed up at No Kings Protest along with an estimated 8 million people nationwide. It was the largest single day protest in American history. We protested a regime that is sending masked agents into our streets, terrorizing our communities, and spending billions of our tax dollars on missile strikes abroad all while driving up the cost of living and handing out massive givea

The Department of Homeland Security quietly purchased an industrial warehouse in Upper Bern Township near Hamburg with plans to convert it into an ICE detention center for up to 1,500 people for a limited time. They also purchased a warehouse in Schuylkill County near Tremont to imprison 7,500 people without a time limit! There was no public notice, no consultation, and no opportunity for community input. That lack of transparency is a continuation of the extensively document

Feb 27, 2026 Thank you for joining the thousands of Pennsylvanians saying NO to ICE in Berks County. And thanks to Governor Shapiro for coming here yesterday and promising to use “every tool at his disposal” to stop planned ICE detention centers here and in neighboring Schuylkill County. “We are not playing around,” he said. “We do not want this here.” We’re not playing around either, but we know the Governor can’t stop this violent federal assault by himself. He needs to hea

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