Don’t Traumatize Kids With Deplorable Detention Centers

Target: Joe Biden, President of the United States

Goal: Do not reinstate controversial family detention centers as part of immigration policy.

The Biden administration may be poised to revive a practice it once condemned as “inhumane.” Reports have emerged that the administration has seriously discussed reopening family detention centers for migrants seeking asylum. The proposed reinstitution would take place after a public health directive prohibiting asylum-seekers from staying in the country is lifted.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and even Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) itself have raised concerns about the harm these centers do to children. Studies have highlighted living conditions grossly inadequate for kids and psychological trauma resulting from stays in these centers that could last a lifetime. President Biden himself even once called the practice “a national shame” and “a moral failing.”

Reinstating such a policy would not only be hypocrisy at the highest level, but it would put innumerable children at risk for cheap political points. Sign the petition below to demand this administration honor its word on this topic for the sake of the most vulnerable.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear President Biden,

“Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately. This is pretty simple, and I can’t believe I have to say it: Families belong together.” Do you remember these words, Mr. President? More importantly, did you mean it when you said them? If reports that the administration is considering reopening the very centers it decried as “a moral failing and a national shame” are correct, then these questions take on even greater import.

The American Pediatric Society and the American Medical Association, among other health organizations, were so concerned that they jointly asked you “to abandon any effort to detain families in ICE facilities.” Even ICE officials themselves have affirmed that detention is “never in the best interest” of the child. Ample anecdotal and research evidence backs these assertions. And the high price tag apparently attached to these facilities only decreases their value even further.

Do not let politics guide this issue. Let this nation’s humanity lead the way.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: US Customs and Border Protection