Success: Migrant Children to Be Released From Family Detention Centers

Target: Amy Maldonado, Immigration Attorney

Goal: Praise advocate for work related to the release of children in detention centers. 

The Coronavirus has torn through the United States, putting countless people at risk of illness and death. The virus is particularly hazardous in confined populations, such as jails and detention centers, where it has the potential to spread rapidly. Parents are forced to choose to either leave the detention centers and give up custody of their children or remain in a camp where they could die and leave their children with no caregiver.

Judge Dolly M. Gee of California passed an order stating that the US government must release the children that are currently held in the United States Family Detention centers with “deliberate speed.”  According to the ruling, all of the children held in centers for more than 20 days must be freed by a predetermined deadline. This comes as a tremendous relief to the families of these children as well as many others who have voiced outrage at the deeply problematic practice of jailing children. 

For months, people like Amy Maldonado have been protesting these child detention centers around the country. There have been countless petitions made, demanding that these children be freed. Last month, when there were reported incidences of ICE forcing families to choose between staying in a detention center or leaving their children, this petition began to circulate. 

Separating children from their families is morally inexcusable during the best of times, but doing so in the midst of a global pandemic shows a blatant disregard for human life. This order is a huge victory for migrant families and is a first step in undoing the devastating practices the Trump Administration has implemented on immigrants throughout his presidency. Sign below to thank Amy Maldonado for her praiseworthy work in protecting migrant children from imprisonment during a global pandemic.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Ms. Maldonado,

The decision to free the migrant children being held in detention centers throughout the United States is a crucial step in combating the persecution these families have faced throughout Trump’s presidency. This ruling is especially important, given the severity of the coronavirus outbreak throughout the United States. As you know, detention centers are an especially hazardous environment during a pandemic, as there is little the confined population can do to protect themselves from the spread of disease. 

It is because of people like yourself that these families can rest a little easier, knowing that their children will be returned to a safe and nurturing environment. Thank you for working to ensure the country moves in a direction in which human rights are recognized and respected. 

Sincerely, 

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Fibonacci Blue