Yesterday, we took @Alyssa_Milano to Karnes, a detention center where migrant fathers are held w/sons.
We faced trouble from the get-go. We were delayed for hours & 1 staff was denied entry b/c he was a *former* reporter.
But Alyssa finally spoke w/families & heard horrors.
We faced trouble from the get-go. We were delayed for hours & 1 staff was denied entry b/c he was a *former* reporter.
But Alyssa finally spoke w/families & heard horrors.
One father had a 17 y/o who traveled w/his 15 y/o girlfriend. She was traveling w/out her parents.
All were in the recent migrant caravan.
ICE thought they were trafficking. They tortured the father in front of the son, slamming his head against the wall when he was detained.
All were in the recent migrant caravan.
ICE thought they were trafficking. They tortured the father in front of the son, slamming his head against the wall when he was detained.
The father was in tears recounting this.
His 17 year old son was deadpan, as many kids are in the center.
He hasn’t seen his girlfriend since they crossed & they’ve been unable to get any information about her.
We don't know where she is.
His 17 year old son was deadpan, as many kids are in the center.
He hasn’t seen his girlfriend since they crossed & they’ve been unable to get any information about her.
We don't know where she is.
Another father has a 6 y/o with cancer. The child wasn’t eating, the father was frantic about his son’s health. He hadn’t yet been seen by the medical unit.
The father thought their time in the hieleras—ice boxes—might be behind the child’s loss of appetite.
The father thought their time in the hieleras—ice boxes—might be behind the child’s loss of appetite.
The hieleras are frigid concrete rooms where migrants spend 1 to 3 nights, sometimes more, when detained at the border.
Out of everything he had endured at home and on the journey, he said his time in the hieleras was the most traumatic; he thinks about them constantly.
Out of everything he had endured at home and on the journey, he said his time in the hieleras was the most traumatic; he thinks about them constantly.
Thirty or so migrants are put in a small room &, b/c there’s no natural light, have no idea what time it is or how much has passed.
It’s torture, he said.
The fact they didn’t know when food was coming might be behind his child’s not eating, he said.
It’s torture, he said.
The fact they didn’t know when food was coming might be behind his child’s not eating, he said.
Another father had a 17 y/o son. They’d been detained for eight months & were done, completely disillusioned with the immigration process & hopeless about their chances of seeking asylum in the States.
They’d asked to be deported months ago, but were still being held.
They’d asked to be deported months ago, but were still being held.
The whole process is a joke.
To say nothing of the maddening asylum bureaucracy, holding refugees & their kids in prison is a crime.
They’re held for months in remote concrete facilities incapable of handling trauma or educating kids.
We need your help to keep the pressure up.
To say nothing of the maddening asylum bureaucracy, holding refugees & their kids in prison is a crime.
They’re held for months in remote concrete facilities incapable of handling trauma or educating kids.
We need your help to keep the pressure up.
