Harwich Resident Walks For Dignity Of Detained Immigrants

 HARWICH – Christopher Tansey is a strong believer in Catholic social teachings, a philosophy that emphasizes human dignity, the common good and justice for the most vulnerable.

 Tansey, who lives in East Harwich with his wife and son, has a history of exercising that philosophy, especially when it comes to immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2019, Tansey and Lincoln resident Connor May walked the 140 miles from Dorchester to the Shrine of Divine in Stockbridge to bring attention to the separation of immigrant parents from children when crossing the border from Mexico to the United States.

Tansey and May embarked on another protest walk on Sunday. Starting at the Pilgrim’s First Landing Park in Provincetown, over six days they will conclude their protest pilgrimage outside the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (PCCF) on Friday, July 24.

 “Our biggest goal is to raise awareness so the people of Southeastern Massachusetts know what’s going on there,” Tansey said of the treatment of nearly 400 immigrants placed by ICE in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, where more than 85 percent have not been convicted of a crime.

The pilgrimage is a somewhat familiar journey made by early immigrants in this country. There is symbolism in beginning the walk at the Pilgrims’ First Landing Park in Provincetown and ending it at the Plymouth correctional facility, he said.

 “The first immigrants were treated like heroes,” Tansey said, “and people who are now seeking a better life are being incarcerated only two miles from the Plymouth Plantation.”

The pilgrimage will serve to raise funds for detainees with legal expenses and with bond assistance, said Tansey. The money will go to the Boston Immigration Just Accompaniment Network (BIJAN). Tansey and May have set up a GoFundMe account with a goal of raising $5,000. Tansey said as of June 18 they had already raised almost $6,000, so they set a new goal of $10,000. 

Their pilgrimage can be followed on Instagram at Plymouthjusticepilgrimage and on Facebook at Plymouth Justice Pilgrimage, which includes a QR code through which donations can be made. They will also be collecting donations during the walk.

Another goal of the pilgrimage is to have people join them as they make their 80-mile journey.

 “Walking in solidarity is powerful,” said Tansey. “We see this as a walk for people of all faiths and all political backgrounds. Every human deserves human dignity. Whether you are Republican or a Democrat, you can get on the same page regarding human dignity.” 

Ninth Congressional District Democratic Candidate Craig Swallow, who will face off in the September primary against Congressman Bill Keating, D-Bourne, joined the walk. Swallow said he will be walking on five of the six days. A New Bedford resident, Swallow said he got involved in the cause through serving as a co-leader of Indivisible. 

Tansey and May met about seven years ago while serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Core at a summer program at the Crow Reservation in Montana. They became roommates while attending graduate school at Boston College. Tansey received a master’s degree in education and May a master’s degree in theology. Tansey is now a middle school teacher in Sandwich and May teaches ethics and social justice at Boston College High School. 

The conditions the immigrants suffer at the Plymouth facility are deplorable, according to Tansey, who cited medical deficiencies, poor food quality, meager amounts of food and contaminated products. He said detainees complain of delays in getting medical diagnoses, and ICE refuses to provide diagnostics and specialist consultation.

He cites a 2024 Boston University School of Law’s Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program and Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts report which chronicles 25 years of violations associated with ICE detentions at the Plymouth facility. 

 “The men we spoke with shared a number of significant concerns including regarding jail conditions, insufficient and/or inedible food, excessively cold temperatures in their cells, lack of access to medical care, lack of language access, inability to communicate with loved ones, and lack of access to legal resources,” according to the report. “They also spoke to a pervasive culture of verbal abuse, racism, intimidation, and retaliation.”

 “The food is very bad,” one inmate was quoted as saying in the report. “So, so bad. So many raw potatoes. The rice is hard and inedible. It’s not sufficient calories. Never in six months of being here have I been fed enough calories. Never once in six months have I had eggs or chicken. Just bread, bread and more bread. If we do get meat, it’s like dog food.”

 “We are highly concerned that the rights and health of people detained on behalf of ICE at PCCF remain in jeopardy,” Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey wrote in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after a visit in 2022. “Detainees should have access to a safe, dignified, and lawful environment. ICE officials and contractors must be transparent about how they treat people in their custody, and held accountable if they have refused to treat people in their custody consistent with basic human dignity and DHS rules and regulations.”

Tansey said Senator Markey made a return visit to the Plymouth facility a couple of months ago and called conditions he saw there “deeply concerning” in a YouTube presentation.

Solitary confinement is used not as a punishment but is based on administrative decisions, he said.

 There has been a sharp uptick in phone calls regarding medical care at the facility in the past few months, according to a statement issued by Leah Hastings, a lawyer with Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts. Tansey said ICE has not been processing outside claims for medical services since last October, citing insufficient funds. Detainees suffer for weeks with tooth infections, he said. 

ICE provides $10 million a year to PCCF, and the facility receives $200 per person per day. PCCF is the only county correctional facility in the state with a contract with ICE, according to Tansey.

On Sunday, Tansey and May departed Provincetown and walked to South Wellfleet along Route 6. On Monday, they walked mainly on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, ending in Orleans. Tansey said on Sunday that about 10 people joined them on the walk from Provincetown and 10 to 15 people accompanied them on Monday as they took to the rail trail in South Wellfleet. 

On Tuesday, they were scheduled to start at Freeman’s Way and move through Brewster, ending at the Ice Cream Smuggler in South Dennis. On Wednesday, they will pass through West Barnstable and end at First Church UCC in Sandwich. On Thursday, they plan to make it over the bridge and end the day outside the YMCA in Plymouth, and on Friday, they will start at Plymouth South High School and end in the area of the Plymouth correctional facility.