The Young Center’s Statement on the Delayed Release of Children and Families from ICE Detention

Washington, D.C., July 17, 2020—Yesterday, Judge Gee extended her deadline mandating the release of children incarcerated with their parents in ICE detention, after ICE and class counsel submitted a joint request for an extension. Today was the day Judge Gee had set as the deadline for releasing children, finding that "the [family residential centers] are 'on fire' and there is no more time for half measures." Because Judge Gee has jurisdiction over only the children, and not their parents, advocates feared that the agency would use Judge Gee’s order to separate families, releasing children as required while keeping their parents in unsafe conditions in detention centers.

This painful delay changes nothing. There is no law requiring the detention of these parents or their children. Every day in so-called “family detention” poses a risk to the health and safety of children. During the next ten days, ICE will pressure parents into giving up their children’s right to liberty or giving up their children’s right to family integrity. That is not a choice—it’s coercion. And during the next ten days, more families will become ill while parents agonize over the likelihood of forced separation from their children.

For that reason, child rights organizations, including the Young Center, have advocated for the immediate release of all children with their parents. Join us now in demanding that ICE release all families in its custody. Families belong together and free.