U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it would make changes to two family detention centers in Texas that would result in families spending less time in detention. The agency states that the facilities will be turned into “reception centers,” where families receive COVID-19 tests, arrange travel to their destination, and are released within three days.
The plan would be a significant improvement compared to what tens of thousands of families have experienced. Even so, there are doubts as to whether the plan will work as described. There are also serious concerns with holding families for any amount of time.
Urgent Action Outcome: Four of five families freed from detention
Over the course of 2020, Amnesty International campaigned to free five families from immigration detention in the USA, with the broader call for all detained families to be freed. Of these five, four were released, and one was deported to their country of origin. As dozens of families remain detained and could be at risk of deportation we will continue to monitor the situation and disseminate new actions if and when needed.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained dozens of families at three facilities – the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley) in Texas, the Karnes Family Residential Center in Texas, and the Berks County Family Residential Center in Pennsylvania – simply because they traveled to the United States seeking safety.
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