Dear John,

Our immigration system is inflicting long-lasting harm on children and families through the abusive, traumatic, and dehumanizing practice of family detention.

Children and families detained for even a short period by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) suffer high levels of anxiety, fear, despair, and depression that have serious and long-lasting impacts—including difficulty navigating our complex immigration system and settling in their new homes, developmental regression or major psychiatric disorders, and impacts on their physical health.

But there are steps we can take now—including immediately ending the practice of detaining families who flee dangerous and unstable situations to seek asylum in the U.S.—to permanently create a more humane immigration system that protects and supports children and families.

This week the Children’s Defense Fund-Texas—in partnership with Dr. Luis H. Zayas, Dean of the University of Texas at Austin's Steve Hicks School of Social Work—released From Guards to Guardians, a policy brief calling for the implementation of healthy community alternatives to immigration detention. Crucial support for our recommendations comes from years of interviews with children and families, who shared heart-wrenching recollections of their time in detention and how that experience continues to impact their lives long after.  

Like the 9-year-old who, even after his release from detention, “couldn’t get on a [school] bus because he felt they were going to take him away” from his family. Or 13-year-old Alex, who spoke of his experience in a hielera, or “icebox,” the term used for the brutally cold cells in which families are routinely left. His mother was so disheartened by their inhumane treatment that she wanted to return to their home country, but Alex consoled her: “I told her no. We are already here and we had to hold on.” Children have felt helplessness, experienced violence and fear, and have seen their parents mistreated and traumatized in the same way.

Our immigration system is broken, but we know how to fix it. Please explore and share From Guards to Guardians to help us spread the word about the urgency of ending family detention in favor of community-based alternatives. Then, we hope you’ll join us in fighting for a country in which all children and their families can find safety and support at our borders.

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