By Viviane Faver

The pandemic has highlighted what we’ve known all along- that ICE prisons are unsafe for anyone, for any amount of time. A recent New York Times investigation found that ICE detention facilities had an average infection rate five times that of prisons and 20 times that of the general population. 

Pandemic or not – there is never a humane way to incarcerate families and children. While the Biden administration has moved away from long-term family detention and released families held at the family detention centers for months, they have not committed to ending the practice of family detention altogether. 

Now is the opportunity to end the immoral and inhumane practice of family incarceration and ensure that no child or family is threatened by detention or separation because they are seeking safety.

The Family Liberation Abolitionist Network celebrates the introduction of the Freedom for Families Act as a step toward ending family detention and permanently shutting down all family prisons.

 The legislation would ensure that no federal dollars can be used to operate and construct family detention facilities and end operations of currently open family detention centers following a 30-day phase-out period.

Last month, companion bills known as the Freedom For Families Act were introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA 7th District).  

This legislation would bar the continued spending of tax dollars on immigrant family prisons and end the detention of families. The Family Liberation Abolitionist Network – a newly formed network of organizations and individuals across the country fighting to end family detention, endorses the legislation and calls on Congress to pass the Freedom from Families Act. 

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The Shut Down Berks Campaign coordinator Jasmine Rivera explains that The House bill was introduced with 19 co-sponsors and four co-sponsors on the Senate bill. The Family Liberation Abolitionist Network worked closely with the sponsors to reach out to Congress members prior to the introduction, and we will be continuing to do outreach to pass this bill. 

“Now is the opportunity to put an end to the immoral and inhumane practice of family incarceration and ensure that no child or family is threatened by detention or separation because they are seeking safety, which he promised to do on the campaign trail.”

While the President Joe Biden administration has shortened the amount of time in family detention at the Karnes and Dilley Detention Centers and released families held at the Berks County Detention Center, there is always a possibility that families will start to be held at Berks again for long periods at Karnes and Dilley. 

President Biden has promised to put a halt to most deportations but ICE has refused. To date, more than 300,000 people, which includes families, have been deported under Biden. 

“The only improvement that is needed is to shut down prisons that incarcerate families. Family detention is always abusive, unjust, and unnecessary. We are fighting for a future where families are not subjected to abuse and trauma in detention centers. Instead, those seeking asylum should go straight to their relatives or sponsors, as it was before”, says Jasmine Rivera.