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southern border communities coalition
US Court Orders Transfer of Migrant Children From 'Profoundly Inhumane' Open-Air Sites
"But it remains a tragedy that a court had to direct the government to do what basic human decency and the law clearly require," said one advocate.
Apr 05, 2024
Migrant rights defenders on Thursday cheered a federal court ruling ordering U.S. Customs and Border Protection to stop holding undocumented minors in squalid open-air detention sites in Southern California and to transfer all children held in such locations to "safe and sanitary" spaces.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) contended that people held in the open-air detention sites (OADS) are not yet in U.S. custody. However, Judge Dolly Gee of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles issued a 12-page ruling that found migrant children are entitled to protection under the Flores Settlement Agreement, which
established national minimum standards for the treatment of detained minors.
"There are minimum standards that must be followed if CBP will be detaining families, children, and other people."
Gee found that CBP violated the 1997 agreement by detaining children in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, failing to properly feed them, and taking too long to process them at seven sites near San Diego and Jacumba Hot Springs. Migrants detained in these OADS have waited as long as five days before being transfered to indoor lockups.
"The court's decision to recognize CBP's custody of children in open-air detention sites is a crucial step towards ensuring accountability and protection for vulnerable migrants," said Lilian Serrano, director of Southern Border Communities Coalition, a case plaintiff.
"There are minimum standards that must be followed if CBP will be detaining families, children, and other people," Serrano added. "We are pleased to see the federal court acknowledge this fundamental truth. Now we expect the agency to comply with the court's order immediately."
As the number of migrants entering the United States without authorization has surged during President Joe Biden's tenure, U.S. border authorities have forced migrants—including people legally seeking asylum—into OADS, where they face what case plaintiff National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) called "profoundly inhumane conditions."
NCYL said migrant children are "forced to take shelter from harsh rain and wind in porta-potties, burn toxic brush and garbage to stay warm, and survive on nothing more than a granola bar and a bottle of water each day."
Neha Desai, NCYL's senior director of immigration, called Gee's ruling "a tremendous victory for children at open-air detention sites."
"But it remains a tragedy that a court had to direct the government to do what basic human decency and the law clearly require," Desai added. "We expect CBP to comply with the court's order swiftly, and we remain committed to holding CBP accountable for meeting the most rudimentary needs of children in their legal custody, including food, shelter, and basic medical care."
A 2023 report on conditions at the Jacumba Hot Springs site published by the U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at the University of California San Diego found that all of the migrants held at the site said border agents did not give them enough food and over half said they did not get enough water for the day. All migrants interviewed also said they were deprived of adequate sanitation like toilets and proper shelter and shade structures.
Another report published last year revealed a "shocking pattern" of abuse of migrants and some American citizens perpetrated by Department of Homeland Security personnel at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Actions Across US Urge Biden to End 'Cruel' Immigration Detention and Deportations
"Our tax dollars need to be used to strengthen our families and communities and uphold our human rights, not for the militarization of our beloved borderlands," said one activist.
Sep 15, 2023
A coalition of over 80 advocacy groups on Friday co-sponsored demonstrations in eight U.S. states and Washington, D.C. as part of a national day of action demanding the Biden administration close all federal immigration detention centers, release all migrants in custody, and end deportations.
Throughout his campaign, President Joe Biden "pledged to create an immigration system that is just and humane, including ending for-profit immigration detention," the coalition—which is organizing under the Defund Hate and Communities Not Cages banners—said in a statement.
"Our community is enraged and ready to push the Biden administration to fulfill his broken promises."
"However, after taking office, enforcement, detention, and surveillance have only increased and in July 2023, over 90% of detained immigrants are incarcerated in facilities owned and operated by private prison corporations that rake in billions of dollars in revenue," the groups continued.
Noting that at least 11 people have died during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention during Biden's tenure, the coalition said that "the negligent death of 8-year-old Anadith Tanay Reyes Álvarez in CBP custody further highlights an immigration enforcement system beyond compassion and beyond repair."
"Our community is enraged and ready to push the Biden administration to fulfill his broken promises," the campaign added.
The activists are urging the Biden administration to:
- Shut down federal immigration detention centers;
- Defund ICE and CBP by cutting their funding in Biden's fiscal year 2025 budget request; and
- Freeing everyone detained in federal immigration custody.
"We join our colleagues here in D.C. and around the country to demand the Biden administration to move away from the cruel imprisonment of immigrants, release those in ICE custody, end immigration detention, and halt all deportations immediately," Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said in a statement.
Protecting the civil liberties of those seeking a better life in the United States is a core tenant of our nation's democracy," Jozef added. "Throwing vulnerable people into prisons is deplorable—and often deadly."
Jovanny Hernandez, co-chair of the Southern Border Communities Coalition and an organizer for the New Mexico Dream Team,asserted that "it is our constitutional and human right for everyone to live free of inhumane treatment. Yet while the United States presents itself as a beacon of these human rights on the global stage, we continue to witness the violation of our rights at the southern border."
"Our tax dollars need to be used to strengthen our families and communities and uphold our human rights, not for the militarization of our beloved borderlands and the targeting, detention, and deportation of our families, neighbors, and newcomers seeking protection," Hernandez added.
Luba Cortes, immigrant defense coordinator at Make the Road New York, said: "ICE has a horrifying track record of mistreating immigrants—denying them access to legal counsel, denying them freedom, and severing them from their families. Despite this, our government continues to funnel billions of dollars into these detention centers."
"People should be able to navigate their immigration cases with dignity and respect and in the comfort of their homes, not from behind bars in a jail cell," Cortes argued. "It is time to hold this administration accountable. President Biden and Congress must stop wasting public money by unnecessarily punishing immigrants in these horrid facilities and instead focus on reinvesting resources into our communities."
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