House Democrats Call for an End to Family Detention
136 House Democrats – including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer – sent a letter to Director of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson calling for an end to the practice of family detention.
When record numbers of asylum seeking immigrant mothers and children entered the country illegally last year, DHS responded by placing these families in jail-like detention facilities where access to healthcare and legal counsel is severely limited.
In response to DHS claims that family detention is a necessary deterrent for illegal border crossing – despite a federal court’s ruling that detention cannot be used as a form of deterrence – and a humane practice, the letter’s authors include testimony from a social work expert who found that these detention centers have negative, long lasting developmental effects on children who are detained for as little as two weeks. According to the letter’s 136 signees, the only way to end the problems associated with family detention is to end the practice all together.
An excerpt from the letter:
“We believe it is undeniable that detention in a secure facility is detrimental to mothers and children and is not reflective of our values as a Nation. Children require special protections and should not be placed in jail-like settings.
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We must prioritize the health and well-being of mothers and children while also prioritizing our enforcement objectives. Detaining mothers and children in jail-like settings is not the answer. We have an opportunity to do the right thing and are confident that DHS has the capacity to honor our Nation’s longstanding commitment both to the protection and well-being of refugee families and to law enforcement and public safety.”
The full letter is available online on the House’s website: https://lofgren.house.gov/uploadedfiles/family_detention.pdf.
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