Via DreamACTivist.org Yeslin, just 9, speaks out from inside the Berks Family detention center. This 9 year old has spend a year locked up in jail, with her 2 year…
Via Human Rights First August 30, 2016 Federal Court Ruling Denies Families in Immigration Detention Review of Legality of their Removal Washington, D.C. – Human Rights First today decried the U.S.…
Obama’s Family Detention Policy: Threaten Rape Victims With Criminal Prosecution As originally posted on Amjo Law by Bryan Johnson on June 9, 2016 This is the second part in a series…
"The answer to the family detention crisis is not contracting for new detention camps, regardless of where they are or who operates them. The answer is ending the practice of locking up kids and their moms once and for all.”
As published on 2/15/16 at Grassroots Leadership (AUSTIN, Texas) — In a quietly announced decision that could set a dangerous precedent for child care in the state, the Texas Health and Human…
This week, the internet saw photos from across the world with the #EndFamilyDetention hashtag go viral. The movement to expose and end the rampant human rights abuses of "family detention."
As originally posted on AmJoLaw n light of the disturbing news that the Obama administration has planned ICE deportation raids against Central American mothers and their young children, here is…
From Virginia Raymond: Here's a webinar hosted yesterday on family detention by the Texas office of the Children's Defense Fund: https://youtu.be/iEOI9bUI4S0 In it, advocate colleagues and I share some of…
Asylum-seeking women report that hunger strike is expanding within the detention center, retaliation continues
A hunger strike movement is taking place across several immigrant detention centers in the U.S. EndFamilyDetention.com stands in solidarity with the growing number of hunger strikes at all immigrant detention…
On Friday, a Texas State Judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TFPS) from granting child care facility licenses to family prison camps in Dilley…
On September 3, the state issued an emergency rule allowing ICE detention centers, and detention centers run for ICE, to apply for “child care” licenses WITHOUT MEETING NORMAL CHILD CARE STANDARDS.
The following is a report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the state of families and unaccompanied children refugees and migrants imprisoned in the U.S.
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Shackled "freedom" is a new series of EndFamilyDetention.com that will document the first-hand experiences of the mothers, families and inside witnesses who will be sharing their stories as they shift from imprisonment in…
A partial transcript of a 20 minute recording of the meeting, in which health concerns at the now-closed Artesia detention center and the Karnes County Detention Center were discussed.
"Univison national report on our request to discipline physicians at the Dilley children jail." via Amoachi & Johnson, Attorneys at Law, PLLC Texas DFPS: Children in ICE detention have no protection.…
Physicians are supposed to improve the health of their patients. The physicians at the STFRC are worsening the health of their children patients by stating to ICE and the world that they are medically cleared for detention. Children can never be medically cleared for detention. In our client’s case, actions of the doctors were so far below the standard of adequate medical care that it resulted in the child suffering extreme physical and mental pain for nearly 3 months.
The below list was obtained from the names of physicians on a clients’ medical record and search results on the Texas State Medical Board public search tool.
AILA member and CARA volunteer Kim Hunter shares the latest access to counsel issues in Dilley and how it affects detainees' cases in this Quicktake.
Letter from formerly detained moms to President Obama
For Immediate Release: July 31, 2015 Human Rights Alliance for Children and Refugee Families www.refugeerightsnow.com Refugee Families Deserve Real Freedom: NO to REFORMS, BONDS, DEGRADING ANKLE MONITORS AND AGGRESSIVE MONITORING…
10 Women File Complaint: Victims of Medical Neglect in Family Detention Camps by Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream WASHINGTON, DC – On July 28th, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Democratic Members of the House Judiciary Committee and support from the Congressional…
July 24, 2015 The Honorable Jeh Johnson Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington, D.C. 20528 Dear Secretary Johnson: On behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics…
Backgrounder on the Flores Litigation and the July 24, 2015 Court Order Compelling the Government to Comply
Detention of refugee women and children over the last thirteen or fourteen months at Artesia, Berks, Karnes, and Dilley was immoral, unconstitutional, a violation of international law, contrary to the…
WASHINGTON: A federal judge ruled Friday night that the Obama administration can no longer lock up children with their mothers who say they're fleeing violence in their home countries.
Lilian Oliva Bardales, 19, was deported to Honduras six days after she shut herself in a bathroom of a Texas family detention center and cut her wrist. In her last week at the Karnes County Residential Center, she said she was taken from her young son, stripped naked in front of screaming staffers, put into isolation and then, back with her son, hidden at a hotel before being removed from the country.
REQUEST TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: Investigate DHS for federal crimes of Conspiracy Against Rights; Kidnapping; and Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Against Lilian Oliva Bardales and her 4-year-old son in Family Detention.
"Johnson, a former consultant to immigration attorneys negotiating with government officials on behalf of the detained mothers and children, was terminated from the role shortly after he leaked to McClatchy a copy of the court’s confidential draft ruling, which concluded that the Obama’s administration’s rapid increase of family detention centers violates parts of a 1997 settlement on migrant children."
In a press released dated Wednesday, June 24, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson announced a few changes to ICE's policy on family detention. While stating that long-term detention practices will be ceased, family detention will continue along with the human rights abuses that remain a hallmark of corporate for-profit prison systems. For families affected by long-term detention, ransom (bond) will still be required in exchange for certain liberties.
This cell phone video footage was released this week and reveals a protest with numerous imprisoned families chanting "libertad" during a Congressional tour this past Monday, June 22, 2015.
Community members hold press conference in solidarity with mothers who will continue strike until the detention camp is closed
"Lilian Oliva, 19, was discovered in a family detention center bathroom bleeding from cuts to her wrist. The Obama administration revived the controversial practice of family detention after tens of thousands of mothers and children fled Central America last year."
"In this response to our request to shut down the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC), Commissioner of Texas' Department of Family and Protective Services responded that his agency has no authority to protect children detained there."
"A growing number of House Democrats, alongside former detainees and legal advocates, will call on the Department of Homeland Security to end its immigrant family detention program in a press…
ICE's new guidelines are the latest phase in their public relations campaign to deceive the public about the harsh realities of incarcerating women and children who should never have been detained in the first place.
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On Monday, May 11, 2015, activists and family members of detained women and children met with the office of President Obama to deliver a letter urging him to free families from…
"We ask that you free us and grant us refuge. Please give us a chance to demonstrate to you that we are honest, responsible, and hardworking mothers. We want our children in the future to be men and women who benefit society, but we need your help."
Featured image by Melissa Biggs [View the story "#EndFamilyDetention Protest in Dilley TX" on Storify]
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the mothers and children imprisoned at the Karnes detention camp. "Attached is a copy of a retaliation complaint filed this afternoon. The…
"We have also received reports that, in response to the protest, DHS Immigration Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) held several women alleged to have instigated the strike—and their children—in isolation in the Karnes medical infirmary and also threatened to separate the mothers from their children."
This public service announcement video is available in English and Spanish and is intended to raise awareness and call for an end to family detention. The following statements are by women who are imprisoned with their children in the Karnes Detention camp in Texas.
"Following in the footsteps of the brave women at the Karnes prison in Texas, yesterday 17 mothers imprisoned at the Berks detention center in Pennsylvania demanded their release in a…
This second phase of protest by a group of 15 -20 mothers comes on the heels of a Holy Week hunger strike in which they released a document signed by 74 women demanding their freedom and rebutting the argument being made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that they and their children are a threat to national security of the United States.
"Our children do not deserve to be imprisoned for so much time. We left our countries fleeing from violence and we came seeking refuge and protection; but we arrived at this place that has now taken our freedom."
In a letter dated April 15, 2015, Congressman Joaquin Castro addresses the harassment by ICE of a volunteer delivering water to refugee mothers and children imprisoned at the Karnes concentration camp…
During a Congressional hearing Congressman Hank Jonhnson questioned ICE Director Sarah Saldana on why Delmy was put in isolation with her 11 year old son.
This disciplinary report from the Karnes detention camp recently surfaced and reveals an odd twist of events and accusations: that the women fasting inside the Karnes prison with their children were…
April 6, 2015 We mothers who are detained in Karnes County Residential Center began a hunger strike on March 30 asking for freedom, for justice. This strike began because all…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6, 2015 Southwest Workers’ Union (SWU) stands in solidarity with the 78 mujeres, and mothers at Karnes County Residential Center in Texas; a facility privately run…
December 5, 2014 William Powers, Jr. President The University of Texas at Austin Office of the President 110 Inner Campus Drive, Stop G3400 Austin, Texas 78712-3400 Dear President…
"I am sharing a letter I have sent to Congressman Castro that explained a terrifying incident that happened after I volunteered to deliver bottled water to the fasting women at Karnes Detention Center this past Tuesday. Please read and share with others to spread the word in support of the women and their immediate release and that their human rights be honored."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, 02 April 2015CONTACT: Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : [email protected] Detention Watch Network Calls on President Obama to Release Mothers and Children as Conditions at Karnes Detention…
"As President of the American Bar Association, I write to express the Association’s concerns about recent policies and practices that have significantly expanded immigration detention, particularly impacting women and children…
"As faith leaders representing churches, synagogues, and faith-based organizations in the United States who are deeply committed to upholding this country’s moral leadership to protect children and the sanctity of the family, we call on you to end the harsh policy of family detention and employ alternatives to detention where deemed necessary. We believe this practice to be inhumane and harmful to the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of this vulnerable population."
by Cristina Parker, Grassroots Leadership Click here to sign the petition in support of the women in Karnes! The women detained in the Karnes detention camp in South Texas released…
From coast to coast on Tuesday, March 24th people gathered to demand freedom for all refugee families at Karnes and Dilley "family" detention centers. The event coincided with the commemoration of…
Receive from us a blessed greeting, we are mothers with our children detained at Karnes Detention Center in the state of Texas, we are families that were detained 8 months…
February 28, 2015 Hello, My name is [redacted], and I came in 2007, but I was caught and was deported, but in that same year, 2007, I again came because…
I arrived at this detention center on August 4, 2014. I already have bond for my daughter, and I haven’t been able to leave yet. I’m worried, because my daughter…
My name is [redacted] (A[redacted]); I am 27 years old and I am here with my son [redacted], who is 10 years old. We are from El Salvador and we…
My name is [redacted] and I have a one year old son here where I am being detained for the past seven months. I was detained on July 30, 2014…
February 26, 2015 I, [redacted] am 32 years old. My number is A# [redacted] . I am with my two children. One is named [redacted] ; her number is A#…
I [redacted], I am 37 years old. My A number is [redacted]. I have two children. One is 11 years old, A number is [redacted]. And her name is [redacted].…
2/24/2015 My name is Sonia Elizabeth Hernandez Amaya, 33 years old, Salvadoran, number A [redacted]; mother of Josselyn [redacted], 10 years old, Number A [redacted], Valentin [redacted], 9 years…
I Maria Estela Marquez Marquez: A087591777, am 34 years old, I’m from El Salvador. I am here detained in the State of Texas, Karnes International Center, Karnes City with my…
[redacted] A [redacted] [redacted] A [redacted] I entered the United States on July 28th, 2014. I was in the hielera for 9 days. On August 8, 2014 I arrived at…
I am in this institution asking for help because I can’t return to my country. I have been here since August 3, 3/8/2014. I need help because I am worried;…
I am [redacted], [born in the] year [redacted], [in] El Salvador. My daughter [is] [redacted], of two and-a-half years [of age], A [redacted]. Through this letter I can say that…
I am [redacted], number A [redacted], 29 years old, and I’m Brazilian. My daughter [redacted], number A [redacted], 2 years old is also Brazilian. I request assistance from the community…
My name is Polyane Soares de Oliveira, 29 years old, number A 200-022-852, and I’m Brazilian. Here with me is my daughter Rhynasa Luisa Duarte, 10 years old, number A…
Public information request - Indigenous Women, Children, and "Family Units" in Custody at the Karnes County Residential Center (hereafter "Karnes"), the South Texas Family Residential Center (hereafter "Dilley"), and the…
Interview with Diego Mancha during the press conference by groups that included Feminists Unite, SAIYM , Attorney Virginia Raymond in front of San Fernando Cathedral. This action was in response to the decision of the federal court (R.I.L.-R. versus Jeh Johnson) that goes against justification by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) to warehouse hundreds of children, women and families in detention centers as a way of deterring further migration. However, it is still not sufficiently strong enough to completely invalidate family detention.
We must not only continue, but also escalate, our opposition to family detention for FIVE reasons
In 2014, 60,000 women and children refugees fled persecution and violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras because of gang violence, domestic and child abuse. They seek asylum here. These…
Please read this stunning report Ending Artesia, by Stephen Manning. Explaining complicated, bizarre, technical legal proceedings with great clarity, this report is compelling. Stephen Manning's writing is beautiful and --…
Please read and sign this resolution and --- far more importantly -- take it to the groups to which you belong. Ask your group to sign and date the resolution. …
A look inside America's expanding immigration detention system.
These are some photos by photographer Gerard Escamilla of the unyielding community response to the family prison in Artesia, New Mexico this past August. Local police called it the "largest protest…
UPDATE: The Karnes County Commissioners Court voted this week, 3-2, to approve the expansion of the for-profit detention center at 409 Farm-to-Market Road 1144, run by the for profit private…
The problem The Dilley ICE prison is about to open. There, families – up to 2400 people -- will be incarcerated based on the thinnest and most transparent of irrational…
pink “tennis” swing to and fro. she’s wearing zebra stripes and a red top, tiny in the cushy big chair that rolls. long black hair narrows her face, shielding the…
This place called a detention center is like a prison for us, because we don’t have freedom, we can’t leave the room without our moms, or go into the room…
For most people who have entered this place, it’s the start of a new life, but it begins badly, because this Detention Center—that they call a shelter for immigrants—but only…
A visual testimony of life in Honduras by Luis Ramon, a young child inside the Karnes "family" prison.
This is the visual testimony of a child from Honduras. "Revos locos" means the Mara Salvatrucha in Honduras. "Arma de fuego" means fire arm and "cigarro" is a cigarette.
"There are many things that happen in this place called Karnes County Residential Center. There are many good and bad things in this place. Many people call it a…
You see me onscreen My name is an A number But I’m a woman - Anonymous
Adela Catalina* had plenty of reasons to leave. Forgive me being somewhat vague in the following account, but she still has vulnerable family in her home country, and we may…
November 22, 2014 Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Services Houston Asylum Office 16630 Imperial Valley Drive, Suite 200 Houston, Texas 77060 E-mail: [email protected] Dear Asylum Officers, I…
November 18, 2014 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, We, the undersigned civil rights and civil liberties, human rights, faith,…
Detention Watch Network (DWN) opposes family detention. The detention of families is inhumane. The United States has failed to maintain detention facilities that comport with basic due process and human…