Today the Trump administration announced a plan to kill the Flores Settlement. This is the agreement that’s supposed to stop them from locking children up for longer than 20 days, and is meant to force the gov't to treat those in detention with basic human rights. #SaveFlores
We asked some of the immigrants we advocate for what detention was like for them and their children.
The following tweets are their responses.
They show why killing the Flores Settlement would be a violation of human rights.
We must #SaveFlores.
Carlos: “Detention has affected my son emotionally, as well as psychologically, because he should be free and play freely. He keeps asking when we are going to get out of here and we don’t know a thing so we tell them that we don’t know, either."...cont.
"Truthfully, this has been a prison, a living hell, for them, for all of our little ones. I would've rather been killed in my country than see this happen to my son.”
Josue: "When my father and I presented ourselves in front of immigration, the officials did not tell me they would separate me from my father. That same night they took me to another place where there was other kids..." cont.
“There the official of immigration would yell at us without justification. He separated me from the group and put me in a room by myself. The other kids ages 13 and under were in another room where they could watch television.”...cont. #SaveFlores
"I remember a brother & sister that were also separated. They tried sending each other signals of love through the window until the official placed paper in all the windows, so they couldn’t see each other anymore."...cont. #SaveFlores
"I could not sleep that night, I arrived there at 1 am and I had no idea where my father was. They later took me to a new detention center. After 40 days I was able to speak to my dad. During my time there, I asked frequently where my father was, I was so worried."...cont.
"Sometimes I did not want to speak to my mom because in the video call her and my siblings would cry. My mom would ask for my father a lot."...cont.
"On Day 57 they told me they would reunite me with my father but not that they would take me to another place. With all the time that we have been detained I feel like a criminal except I didn't do anything wrong.” #SaveFlores
Paola: “Sometimes anything seemed better than being in the children’s shelter. Being detained made me desperate. It made me feel the same helplessness -- for what my family had done -- I then wanted to escape."
"Then the shelter sent me to an adult jail on my 18th birthday. In the jail I felt like I was being punished. I cried a lot. We had no support. No social worker. They did not really let you see the doctor."...cont.
"I felt alone. It was always cold and the food was terrible. And the people that worked in the jail were so mean. I had to go to jail because I did not qualify for foster care I was told."...cont.
"I cannot imagine having to wait in the shelter or jail for a year and a half for my case to finish. Children should have the same rights even if they come with parents. A child is a child.”
Since 2014, RAICES has represented thousands of people, including children inside the Karnes Detention Center. It’s often touted as a “model” facility by the US government.
There is nothing “model” about it. It is a prison, rife with violence and systemic abuse. #immigration
The RAICES Family Detention Services team was able to obtain an unprecedented amount of information about the migration experiences of adult women detained at Karnes.
❌ At least 633 out of approximately 1,900 women detained reported experiencing mistreatment while in custody.
❌ 839 women reported that they were separated from family members.
❌ There has never been a full-time pediatrician at Karnes, nor is there obstetrics care available.
Our hearts are with the people of #Ukraine and everyone impacted by Russian aggression. War serves only to create death and destruction, and will lead to a humanitarian crisis and the mass displacement of millions of people.
This is not new: we have witnessed how devastating war and conflict can be in places like Haiti and Afghanistan. The US must be ready to respond immediately, and welcome all those who are forced to flee their homes.
Although @POTUS mentioned a vague reference to providing humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine in his speech yesterday, nothing he said was concrete.
Last week was the Black Immigrant Advocacy Day of Action! We joined in celebrating the leadership of Black immigrants in the work to expose + eradicate racism in the immigration system. But fighting for Black Immigrants isn't just a one time event. Here's what we can STILL DO: 👇🏽
Support + follow Black immigrant-led immigrants rights organizations, including:
We are absolutely disgusted by the Biden Administration's decision to deport thousands of Haitians one month after the devastating earthquake and storm that resulted in 2,200 deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. 🧵👇🏾
Families who lost everything to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake are now living through flash floods and mudslides. The destruction is large-scale and unprecedented, worsening Haiti’s already unstable political and social infrastructure.
Haiti is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change – and we can expect climate disasters to continue to devastate the nation in the years to come.
The Senate parliamentarian just recommended that a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and Essential Workers should not be included in the budget reconciliation bill. We are disappointed to hear the news, but we know that this fight is far from over. 🧵👇🏾
We have spent decades fighting for a path to legalization for all undocumented immigrants in this country. We are not giving up now. Democrats in Congress can still keep their promise, without compromising on increased enforcement.
We expect them to use all the tools to get this done. They can do the following:
✅Dems can rework the legalization language and resubmit to the Parliamentarian;
✅Vice President Harris can overrule the parliamentarian;
We are extremely disappointed in the Biden Administration's decision to appeal the federal court ruling that would block #Title42. @POTUS has a moral obligation to stop using T42 to harm families and children seeking asylum.
It is immoral and inhumane.
Here's our statement:
We at RAICES have a front row seat to the horrors of Title 42. Our clients are stuck in Mexico. Families fleeing violence are turned away. U.S. and international Asylum law is flouted.