A group of immigrant fathers at Karnes who were about to start a hunger strike in detention, the second reported one, told reporters they were were forcibly re-separated from their kids by ICE. These are dads who had been previously separated and then reunited.
Two of the kids spoke on the call with reporters and said their dads were taken to another facility while they were in school. The 16 kids were then put in two rooms and said they were given no information about where their dads were.
Lawyers for the dads and advocates believe separations on Wednesday were in retaliation for their attempts to organize a second hunger strike. The dads said ICE officers came in full tactical gear when they removed them from the cells they were in before transferring them.
The 16 dads and their kids have since been reunited. One dad said he couldn’t believe he was separated from his son again after being separated for months the first time.
“I was crying for my dad,” said one of the boys who was on the call with reporters. A father who kept asking ICE agents why this was happening was told “No more questions for you.”
RAICES attorney Ryan Clough said he was told by an ICE officer the dads were transferred for “disruptive behavior" that caused "safety concerns." Later adding that the dads didn't want to "go with the flow," and “not wanting to take their children to school.”
