John,
I've got some bad news. A cowardly federal judge just ruled that ICE does not need to release parents detained in their family jails with their children.
As you may know, a different judge ordered ICE to release all children by July 27* back in June. But that judge only has jurisdiction over the children, not their parents -- which means that with this ruling, ICE can now force parents to make an impossible choice: waive your children's rights so they can be released from a dangerous jail, or choose to remain in custody together.
Presenting parents with this "choice" in and of itself is cruel: imagine being held in a jail in the middle of a global pandemic with your toddler, only to be told that you have to either give up your child so they can get out, or choose not to be separated and stay in jail together as Covid-19 spreads.
This is not choice -- it is abject, gratuitous, unnecessary cruelty. The only answer is to #FreetheFamilies together. While ICE has not been legally compelled today, nothing in this ruling takes away from the fact that they are morally obliged as fellow human beings to release the families together.
Can you make a quick phone call to Acting ICE Director Matt Albence and tell him to #FreeTheFamilies together?
This is a disappointing development, but this fight isn't over yet.
For weeks, our movement has been fighting to stop this: gathering more than a quarter million petition signatures, driving thousands of calls to ICE offices, and last week delivering our message directly to ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C. urging them to #FreeTheFamilies together.
We will not sit by silently as families are at risk of being torn apart. We will not sit by silently as our government considers ripping toddlers from their mothers -- again. We've proven how formidable our movement truly is. And despite whatever obstacles we face, we have to keep pushing forward, no matter what.
We're not giving up. Take a moment to call Acting ICE Director Matt Albence right now and tell him to #FreeTheFamilies together.
The fight to end family separation and detention for good is far from over. And it's a fight we will win.
We won't stop until every family is reunited and family detention ends once and for all.
With hope,
Paola Luisi
Director, Families Belong Together
*The original deadline given to ICE was July 17. That deadline was extended to July 27.
Families Belong Together is a campaign of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). NDWA is the nation's leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. If you would like to get in touch with Families Belong Together, click here.
