ACLU Slams Biden’s Plans to Revive the Practice of Detaining Migrant Families

WASHINGTON — The New York Times reported yesterday that the Biden administration plans to revive the practice of detaining migrant families to deter them from coming to the southern border to seek asylum. President Biden condemned and shut down the practice two years ago. The ACLU strongly opposes family detention, and has successfully fought previous administrations’ detention of families, including at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Texas, the Artesia Family Detention Center in New Mexico, and the at the Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, had the following reaction:

“How we choose to respond to the children and families fleeing violence and persecution who come to our border seeking safety says a lot about who we are as a nation. Putting children and their parents behind barbed wire to deter them from seeking safety should shock the conscience of every American who believes in fairness, safety, and basic human dignity for all people.

“If President Biden moves forward with these plans, he will be putting vulnerable, traumatized immigrant children at risk. We will fight him every step of the way.”