🧵THREAD: We joined with the @bailfundnetwork & its 32 member funds as well as the @HispanicCaucus to ask @DHSgov to open the online bond payment portal for families & community organizations to pay bond for immigrants in detention.
While we continue to advocate for the release of everyone in ICE detention, release and parole has been slow to nonexistent, family members and community bond funds are working around the clock to release individuals through the payment of bond.
During the #COVID19 pandemic, asking family members & community bond fund volunteers to continue to post bond in-person defies all public health advice.
In the past week, members of the @bailfundnetwork have had to deal with office closures in NYC, Miami & southern California.
In almost all locations, folks (including RAICES' Bond Squad) who go post bond have had to ignore stay at home orders, go against social distancing guidelines in waiting rooms, and wear safety equipment.
And we know that bond funds are in a privileged position as we can support each other (when the NYC office closed, Boston & NJ folks posted for them), while individuals & families just get turned away while their families remain in detention.
We know that @DHSgov has long had an online bond payment portal for commercial bail bond companies.
This system must be made available to ALL those who are posting bond to free individuals.
With your help we can continue to urge @DHSgov to remotely process bond payments through its eBond system so that families & community bond funds can follow social distancing guidance when paying for a detained individual’s bond.
There is no time to waste. Tweet at your representatives by using this handy tool we created 👇🏾 and demand they take action to provide eBond access for immigrant families NOW.
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.