🧵THREAD: Yesterday, alongside @aldea_pjc & @rapid_defense we went to Court to protect families in immigration custody from a #COVID19 outbreak & demand their release from family detention centers. #FreeThemAll
GOOD NEWS 🗣️
We're now closer than ever to releasing these families.
At the hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Boasberg of DC directed U.S. immigration authorities to report on their efforts to release families in custody by next week. #FreeThemAll washingtonpost.com/local/legal-is…
And stopped short of ordering the release of 1,350 members of migrant families detained at 3 centers in PA + TX as part of our lawsuit.
To give some back story:
On Saturday, a federal judge in LA had ordered federal agencies operating detention facilities for migrant children to report their efforts to release children in custody by April 6th.
That order was widened yesterday to cover their parents.
"These detention centers, as the evidence in the lawsuit clearly establishes, lack the most basic necessities for sanitation in normal conditions. Family Residential Centers are now tinderboxes for the spread of #Covid19." - Manoj Govindaiah, @RAICESTEXAS' Director of Litigation
Parents should not have to watch in horror as the threat of #COVID19 looms ever closer.
We will continue to fight for these families & ask that you join us by urging @ICEgov to #FreeThemAll.
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.