More than 125 women’s and human rights groups, including We Belong Together and Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson today calling for the administration to stop detaining mothers and children fleeing Central American violence. A visit this week to a new Texas family detention center revealed that many of those in custody are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes.
The letter calls for the administration to expand the use of affordable alternative forms of custody that ensure families have access to lawyers and social services so they may seek legal protections, including relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), that are designed to help them live free from violence and fear.
“We recently marked the 20th anniversary of VAWA, an important milestone of our country’s strong commitment to ensuring that every woman and child lives free from domestic and sexual violence,” said Sameera Hafiz, of We Belong Together. “The Obama administration’s decision to respond to the crisis in Central America by locking these mothers and children in isolated detention centers and undermining their access to important legal protections for survivors undercuts the legacy of VAWA and American values of justice.”
NIJC and We Belong Together were deeply troubled by the conditions of the 226 families held in Karnes County (Texas) Residential Center, including more than 300 children, some as young as three months old. Of the women with whom the visiting advocates spoke, a large majority had no legal counsel, were unaware of the status of their immigration cases, and felt threatened by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the facility. Advocates have expressed similar concerns about conditions at another isolated DHS family detention facility in Artesia, New Mexico.
“There was a profound sense of confusion among women detainees at Karnes about how the immigration process works or what their rights are,” said Royce Murray, NIJC’s director of policy. “Many women reported being intimidated and coerced into signing removal documents, with threats of being jailed for years or getting separated from their children for failure to sign. The limited access to counsel for families in remote detention facilities like Karnes and Artesia makes due process virtually impossible.”