Mr. CASTRO. as we visit the two facilities. I am sure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. and even private companies who are contracted to run the facilities and profit from the incarceration of other people. are trying their best to make the conditions of detention for these moms and kids as humane as they can. But. you see. that misses the point. We shouldnt be holding vulnerable women and children in detention. We have mothers and small children living in jaillike facilities with uncertain futures. limited access to legal counsel. and this has been going on for some time. for almost a year for some of them. Even with schools and laundry and TVs. they are still being held behind fences. Moms still have to explain to the youngest children that. no. in fact. they do not know when they can leave or whether they will be deported back to the violent countries they fled after months in detention. Children who face trauma. gangs. murder. and sexual assault in their neighborhoods were forced to leave alone or in groups or with a parent. They faced all sorts of dangerssmugglers and predatorson the journey to northern Mexico. where we know assault. robbery. and rape are commonplace. Then they crossed the U.S. border. often with the guidance of additional smugglers and criminals. and. following the process in the U.S. law. presented themselves to authorities to request asylum. Now. because we have not put money into our immigration court system and. by the way. because we have not created ways for people to come here with visas instead of smugglers. we are all paying a higher price to house and feed moms and kids when much cheaper monitoring and supervision options are available. Why? The government feels that imprisoning these children and moms. even in relatively humane conditions. will be a deterrent to others.
Keywords matched
deported immigration Immigration visas