Letter Demands ICE Release Families Detained During COVID-19 Pandemic

The American Immigration Council joined a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security calling on the release of all families held at all three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention centers.

COVID-19 is running rampant in these facilities—which detain children as young as one-year-old. In the Karnes County Residential Center, 34 parents and children of approximately 100 detained have tested positive for COVID-19. In the South Texas Family Residential Center, 21 facility staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

The letter calls on ICE to use its full authority and discretion to release families together on parole and/or into alternative-to-detention programs.