Detention
Public Radio Report Mischaracterizes U.S. Asylum Process
Media outlets are reporting on the uptick in the number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. This trend is not surprising given the ongoing violence in Central America. The conditions in the region are not significantly improving by any measure, and as a result people continue to flee while the Administration’s refugee “deterrence policy” fails to deter many. Read More
Texas Judge Continues to Delay the Licensing of State Detention Centers as Childcare Facilities
On Friday, a Texas judge extended the temporary restraining order preventing Texas from licensing the Dilley detention center as a childcare facility. Dilley is one of two privately operated detention centers in Texas that house Central American mothers and children who fled violence and poverty in their home countries and are seeking protection in the United States. Read More
Mothers Held in Family Detention Centers Ask for Support from White House Mothers
Mothers who risked everything to flee horrific violence in their home countries, only to be held in immigration detention, gathered alongside advocates in front of the White House earlier this week in honor of Mother’s Day. The event, “Let Hope Bloom,” called on mothers in the administration to immediately visit… Read More
New Data Sheds Light on Sprawling, Often For-Profit, Immigration Detention System
It is easy to forget at times just how sprawling and labyrinthine the U.S. immigration detention system truly is. But this is an important fact to keep in mind. Due to the sheer size and complexity of the detention system, detainees are easily “lost” to their family members and attorneys. Read More
Berks Detention Center Employee Convicted of Sexual Assault of Young Honduran Mother
A judge in Pennsylvania this week sentenced Daniel Sharkey, a 41-year-old former counselor at the Berks County Residential Center, to six to twenty three months of jail time. Sharkey previously worked at the county-run detention center for children and their parents. His sentence came down after he pled guilty… Read More
These Two States Are Pushing Back on Private Immigration Detention
Immigration detention is being addressed at the state and local level in a variety of ways. In Indiana, local advocates are opposing a new private detention facility, and in California, legislators are attempting to limit private detention and enforce national detention standards. California State Senator Ricardo Lara recently introduced the… Read More
Religious Leaders, Formerly Detained Families, and Advocates Protest Family Detention at White House
Protesters gathered in Lafayette Square just across from the White House on Monday. The protest coincided with the 138th annual White House Easter Egg roll. As families inside enjoyed the annual White House festivities, protesters outside the gates highlighted the plight of detained immigrant families. On a day filled… Read More
Medical Dysfunction at ICE Detention Facilities
There is no shortage of stories about immigrants dying from inadequate medical care while in detention centers operated or overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Take the case of Pablo Gracida-Conte, a 54-year-old Mexican man who died of cardiomyopathy in October 2011 in a hospital in Tucson,… Read More
Amicus Arguments at the Ninth Circuit: The Flores Settlement Applies to All Children
Since the summer of 2014, the government has detained thousands of mothers and children fleeing violence in Central America. Although the longstanding Flores settlement guarantees minimum standards for the detention, release, and treatment of children in immigration detention, the Government’s family detention practices have failed to comply with the settlement. Plaintiffs brought suit to enforce the Flores settlement, and a District Court Judge ruled in July and August of 2015 that the settlement applied to all minors, including those detained with family members. The Department of Homeland Security then filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the settlement only applies to unaccompanied minors, and not those children arriving with one or more parent. This week, a broad array of organizations filed amicus briefs in support of the plaintiffs and arguing against the Government’s position. Read More
A Visit to Berks Family Detention Center Makes Clear Why They Lost their License
Advocates, community members, and attorneys gathered outside the Berks County Family Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania on Monday to protest the continued operation of the center. The center was open for business as usual, with approximately 81 parents and children currently detained, despite the fact that the center’s license… Read More
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