from the Coalition on Human Needs
Mothers and children shouldn’t be jailed for seeking asylum in our country. And yet, that’s exactly what’s happening. Vulnerable mothers and children fleeing extreme violence in Central America have come to the U.S. to seek asylum – only to be locked up in deplorable family detention facilities by our government. It’s wrong, and it has to stop.
For years, families seeking asylum met their legal requirements without the harm of detention. A very high percentage of the families who have had a chance to present their stories have been granted asylum or have been found to have a credible fear of persecution. None of these families should be incarcerated in woefully inadequate facilities while they wait for the chance to tell their stories.
Pax Christi USA has signed this letter urging President Obama to end the practice of family detention.