ICE plans to deport children held in its jails as early as this weekend

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Dear Friend,

Despite months of advocacy by the Young Center and organizations across the country, ICE has held dozens of families in its jails during the pandemic. The conditions at ICE family jails are so dangerous that a judge described them as being "on fire" this summer. Instead of freeing the families in its custody, which ICE has full legal power to do, the agency is planning to deport them. As early as this weekend, ICE will deport the families to the same dangers they fled, without giving them a chance to seek asylum.

Twenty-eight children between the ages of 2 to 18 are among those facing deportation. Eight-year-old Antonio* is one of them. He has been detained for a year and a half but never had a chance to seek asylum. In an interview with Telemundo yesterday he said ([link removed]) , "We’re asking to help us get out of here. I don’t want to spend Christmas in this detention center. I want to spend it with my family, my father."

Join us today and call on ICE to immediately stop the deportation of the 28 children and to free the families in immigration jail. Here's what you can do.
1. Share our posts on Twitter ([link removed]) , Facebook ([link removed]) , and Instagram ([link removed]) and tag your representatives. Ask them what they are doing to protect these children. Use the hashtags #28Children, #SafetyForThe28, and #FreeTheFamilies.
2. Call your Senators and Representatives ([link removed]) on the phone and ask them to take action to stop ICE from deporting these children.
3. Send an email directly to ICE field offices ([link removed]) asking them to stop the deportations and free the families.

Thank you for taking a stand,
Jennifer Nagda
Policy Director

*Child's name has been changed to protect his privacy.

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The Young Center works with the most vulnerable unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in federal custody so their voices are heard and their best interests are protected. We also advocate for an immigration system that treats children as children. To learn more about our work, visit ** theyoungcenter.org ([link removed])
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Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights . 2245 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 301 . Chicago, IL 60616 . USA