San Francisco, CA --  Before dawn this morning, women at the Yuba County Jail began fasting, joining hundreds of other detainees taking part in hunger strikes at facilities across the country. The #FreedomGiving strikes were launched on Thanksgiving by hundreds of South Asian and African detainees at three separate facilities.

The Yuba County Jail  rents space to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  to detain people. For the first time, women in criminal custody are fasting with detainees in immigration custody as an act of solidarity. The fasters in Yuba explained, "We are locked up together and refuse to be divided into immigrants and citizens. None of us belong in this cage separated from our families. We join the brave immigrant hunger strikers across the country in fasting to force recognition of our humanity."

Leaders and community organizers at ASPIRE, the nation's first pan-Asian undocumented youth-led group, will be joining the fast in solidarity outside Yuba County Jail. Fasters hope to highlight the reality of deportations and the violence that API communities face, and to call for an end to the unjust policing and the criminalization of all communities of color.

One of the fasters, Rajeshree Roy, has been detained at the Yuba County Jail for over a year, only able to see her children through plexiglass and bars. Supporters are attempting to raise bond to reunite Rajeshree with her family. Support Rajeshree by reading more about her story and signing her petition.

Support the #FreedomGiving strikers by signing their petition - http://www.notonemoredeportation.com/2015/11/26/freedomgiving/