The Freedom for Families Act
On April 29, 2021, Representative Jamila Jayapal and Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Freedom for Families Act, legislation proposing an end to the current practice of detaining children and families who have arrived at the U.S. border seeking asylum. Supporters of the proposed law include advocates and lawyers who have seen first hand what the studies confirm — that detention of children and families, especially long term or indefinite, is extremely harmful and traumatic to children. Detention also violates the basic human rights of migrants who arrive at the border as asylum seekers who have fled life-threatening conditions of abuse in their home countries.
The proposed Freedom for Families Act would:
- Ensure that no federal dollars will be used for the operation and construction of family detention facilities.
- Create a 30-day phase out of currently operating family detention centers.
- Transfer funds currently used to operate family detention centers for the implementation and development of appropriate community-based non-detention programs
- Instruct the DHS Secretary to review the feasibility of transferring case management programs out of the purview of ICE and DHS.
Dozens of immigrant and human rights organizations have endorsed the proposed legislation.
Read more on this website about the For Profit Detention System.