Family Detention
Berks Detention Center Employee Convicted of Sexual Assault of Young Honduran Mother
A judge in Pennsylvania this week sentenced Daniel Sharkey, a 41-year-old former counselor at the Berks County Residential Center, to six to twenty three months of jail time. Sharkey previously worked at the county-run detention center for children and their parents. His sentence came down after he pled guilty… Read More
Religious Leaders, Formerly Detained Families, and Advocates Protest Family Detention at White House
Protesters gathered in Lafayette Square just across from the White House on Monday. The protest coincided with the 138th annual White House Easter Egg roll. As families inside enjoyed the annual White House festivities, protesters outside the gates highlighted the plight of detained immigrant families. On a day filled… Read More
A Visit to Berks Family Detention Center Makes Clear Why They Lost their License
Advocates, community members, and attorneys gathered outside the Berks County Family Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania on Monday to protest the continued operation of the center. The center was open for business as usual, with approximately 81 parents and children currently detained, despite the fact that the center’s license… Read More
Texas Child Protection Agency Moves Forward in Licensing Family Detention Centers
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has issued a rule allowing for the two family detention facilities in Texas to apply for licenses to detain immigrant children and their mothers. This move may have the effect of further entrenching the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s… Read More
Eight Families Swept up in Immigration Raids Released, While 30 Other Mothers Issue Plea for Freedom
Two mothers from Honduras and six from El Salvador, along with their children, were finally released from family detention centers in the past several days. These families were among those swept up in immigration raids in early January after the Obama Administration claimed their legal avenues had been exhausted. Read More
What President Obama Proposed on Immigration in His Final Budget
President Obama unveiled his proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 which begins on October 1, 2016. While this is the President’s final budget and is largely seen as a political document, it does set the baseline for the funding of federal programs and new initiatives executive agencies would… Read More
Government Losing its License to Operate Family Detention Center in Pennsylvania
On January 27, 2016, Pennsylvania state officials informed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it would not renew and would revoke the operating license for the Berks County Residential Facility, the immigration detention center in Leesport, Pennsylvania, which jails mothers and children, often for extended periods of time. Read More
Mothers Targeted in Immigration Raids and Still Detained Pen Letter to President Obama
Seven mothers that have been held for four weeks in a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas penned a letter to President Obama asking him to release them and their children while they work through the immigration appeals process. These women and their kids were among those picked up and… Read More
Local and National Politicos Decry Obama Administration’s Raid Policy
The recent immigration raids that saw 121 individuals rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have created not only a due process crisis, but a powerful political backlash from members of Congress, as well as Presidential candidates who disagree with the policy of aggressively deporting asylum-seekers. The government’s decision to… Read More
Letter to DHS Outlines Problematic Practices That Undermine Due Process Protections for Asylum Seekers
Even before the recent ICE raids on Central American families began last week, there were serious signs that the government was undermining due process and not providing asylum-seekers a meaningful opportunity to make their cases. Many of the violations were brought to the attention of the immigration agencies by the… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
