Shut Down Dilley

I sincerely appreciate your willingness to consider the urgent humanitarian crisis unfolding at detention centers around the country. I view this as an important bi-partisan issue that I will consider carefully when I vote in the November general election. I am requesting the immediate closure of these facilities that detain children, given that: Numerous peer-reviewed studies outline the life-long harm caused to children by detainment (even in “optimal” conditions). These facilities have faced lawsuits alleging medical neglect, rotten food, failure to provide clean water, sleep deprivation, and denial of legal counsel. The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the detainment of children for immigration purposes, including their recent statement from leadership that, “[a]ll children held in immigration detention should be immediately released, and these facilities should be permanently shuttered.” Detaining infants and children is unnecessary for an effective immigration system - more humane alternatives exist and have been used successfully by both the current and previous administrations. Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs include the Family Case Management Program, which has a high compliance rate and is substantially less costly than detainment. I am asking you to act now to protect the mental and physical health of the infants, toddlers, and children detained by ICE.