Madonna, Gracie Abrams, Muna, and dozens of other artists have signed a petition calling for the “immediate closure” of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Dilley, Texas. The open letter, published on Change.org, demands an end to the detention of children and families, and requests “transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States.”
The petition demanding its closure has thousands of signatures at the moment. Kesha, John Legend, King Princess, Brandi Carlile, the Indigo Girls, Lance Bass, and Sara Bareilles have all added their names, as well as a number of high-profile actors and directors: Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Lena Dunham, Elliot Page, Pedro Pascal, Jane Fonda, Javier Bardem, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Hall, and many more.
“No child should be locked in an immigration detention center,” the letter opens. “We, the undersigned, call for the immediate closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention center in Texas and an end to the detention of children and families. Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights.”
As reported by NBC News, the majority of parents and children detained by ICE are being held at the Dilley detention center, with the Trump administration estimated to have taken more than 2,300 children into custody in 2025. In recent months, nearly 600 immigrant children were held at the Dilley facility “without enough food, medical care, or mental health services,” per the Associated Press.
Over the past year, numerous artists have spoken out against ICE. Radiohead cut to the chase with a curt “Go fuck yourselves” after a Department of Homeland Security ad used their music without permission, following similar incidents with strongly worded rebukes from Olivia Rodrigo and Tyler, the Creator. After the killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good by ICE agents in January, Bruce Springsteen shared the protest anthem “Streets of Minneapolis” and has made several surprise appearances to show his support of local residences voicing their frustration with the government.
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