Democratic congressmen: End immigrant family detention
More than 130 House Democrats — including two Georgians — sent the Obama administration a letter Wednesday, calling for the end to the detention of immigrant families without legal status.
U.S. Reps. John Lewis of Atlanta and Hank Johnson of Lithonia signed the letter, which declares: “We believe the only solution to this problem is to end the use of family detention.”
“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,” says the letter, which is addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. “Children require special protections and should not be placed in jail-like settings.
Federal immigration authorities announced this month they will seek to improve living conditions and access to attorneys in its three family detention centers, which are located in Texas and Pennsylvania. Further, ICE said it would start reviewing the cases of families detained beyond 90 days to determine whether they should remain in custody.
“The well-being of detained families, particularly of children, is of paramount importance to DHS,” Marsha Catron, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in an email. She added: “ICE remains committed to ensuring all individuals in our custody are held and treated in a safe, secure and humane manner.”
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Jeremy Redmon is an award-winning journalist, essayist and educator with more than three decades of experience reporting for newspapers.
