Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Veronica Escobar (TX-16) sent a letter to President Donald Trump calling on him to end his administration’s use of detention for families and children. 

“The last Administration rightfully ended the use of family detention because it is well-documented that detaining children, regardless of the length of detention, causes lasting harm, and yet does nothing to deter migration,” wrote the Members.

The Biden administration recognized the harm of family detention and stopped relying on this outdated and expensive form of immigration enforcement. However, the Trump administration has brought it back despite numerous studies proving that family detention subjects children to significant psychological trauma and long-term mental health risks.

“Multiple administrations have tried to use family detention, only to find it does nothing to prevent families from seeking safety here and instead serves only to traumatize new generations of children,” the Members continued.

Detaining families with children is cruel and unnecessary. There are humane solutions to ensure families comply with immigration proceedings while saving taxpayers money. The Family Case Management Program (FCMP) used case managers to ensure clear assistance to those navigating the immigration system. It produced a 99 percent compliance rate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and immigration court requirements, without relying on detention. FCMP also costs taxpayers only $36 per day while detention can cost up to $319.

The full text of the letter can be read here.

The letter was also signed by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-At Large), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Gerald Connolly (VA-11), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Jason Crow (CO-06), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Silvia Garcia (TX-29), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Al Green (TX-09), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sarah Jacobs (CA-51), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Summer Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Summer Lee (PA-12), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), David Scott (GA-13), Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mark Takano (CA-39), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

It is also endorsed by Alianza Americas; American Immigration Council; American Immigration Lawyers Association; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; Caring Across Generations; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Center for Law and Social Policy; Center for Victims of Torture; Children's Defense Fund; Church World Service; Coalition on Human Needs; Global Refuge; Government Accountability Project; Human Rights First; Immigration Equality; Immigration Law & Justice Network; Innovation Law Lab; Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración (IMUMI); International Refugee Assistance Project; Kids in Need of Defense; Kino Border Initiative; Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG); MPower Change Action Fund; National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum; National Education Association; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice; National Partnership for New Americans; People's Action Institute; Refugee Council USA; Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Justice Team; Stop AAPI Hate; T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; The Advocates for Human Rights; UndocuBlack Network; United We Dream; Witness at the Border; Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights; Al Otro Lado; AVAN Immigrant Services; Children's Defense Fund-Texas; Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice Ventura County (CLUE VC); Colorado Asylum Center; East Bay Sanctuary Covenant; Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project; Free Migration Project; Immigrant Children Advocates' Relief Effort (ICARE); Immigrant Defenders Law Center; Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy; Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity; Midwest Immigration Bond Fund; New York Immigration Coalition; Oasis Legal Services; Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA); Presbytery of the Pacific, PCUSA; Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network; Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN); Voices for Utah Children.