Linked & Loud: Children Detained at the Border
“We were taught to never let anything like the Holocaust happen again, so we are sounding the alarm now.”
This bulletin was born from our outrage about what’s happening at the border. In our inaugural issue, we focus on the treatment of detained children and how to take action. - Amber & Katie
The U.S. government continues to engage in “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” of migrants and asylum-seekers attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Accounts from detainees are “the stuff of nightmares.” The disregard for the well-being of children is especially horrifying. Medical experts warn forced family separation and prolonged detention cause serious trauma and inhibit development, and recent reports state detained children exhibit emotional distress. A 5-year-old boy separated from his father in Texas told lawyers he was “very frightened and scared.” An 11-year-old boy who has epilepsy reported, “there is no one to take care of you there.”
Congress approved billions in funding to improve conditions in the camps, but the administration continues to deliberately put detainees’ health at risk. It’s moving to avoid oversight by opening new facilities on military and for-profit properties, while also working to overturn time limits for holding minors. Customs and Border Protection will defy CDC advice, medical ethics and human rights norms by withholding flu vaccines from detainees, even as at least three children have died in custody from the flu. Oh, and there’s a mumps outbreak. The cruelty is in plain view and the conditions can only get worse - is that all part of the plan?
Never Again Action is a group of Jewish activists staging protests of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and companies that profit from detention policies. “We were taught to never let anything like the Holocaust happen again, so we are sounding the alarm now.” They’ve been demonstrating in cities like New Jersey, Boston and DC. One of the activists arrested for a sit-in at the U.S. Capitol was Rebecca Kling. Rebecca said on Twitter: “I am taking this action today because standing on the sidelines is not enough.” Her blog post - “But what can I possibly do?” - is an absolute beauty, full of links for every kind of engagement. #icon
Donate to the ACLU to fund their legal work, including challenges to family separation and detention policies and practices, pursuit of better data and monitoring reunification.
LIRS scripted your outreach to your lawmakers to demand the end of family separation and prioritize the well-being of children.
Post bail to release and reunite families: donate to Immigrant Families Together. Jazz it up by joining their Hug Challenge. Post a hugging photo tagged #OneVidaAtATimeHugChallenge and donate to IFT, then challenge a friend to do the same.
Sign RAICES’ Build a Bridge pledge to join “an unstoppable community of people ready to fight for the humanity of those seeking a better life.”
Tweet thanks to the Congresspeople who have spoken out about the flu vaccine issue - @RosaDeLauro@RepRoybalAllard@FrankPallone - and ask them to keep the pressure on @CBP as flu season begins.
Join Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) to share the heartbreaking stories of #silencedvoices.
Don’t stop talking about how abhorrent this is.
Find us on Instagram @LinkedandLoud and #LinkedandLoud, and let us know how you’ve taken action.
Also, please forward this bulletin along to friends. And if you’re a friend who’s received this, you can sign up to keep getting Linked & Loud in your inbox by subscribing here:
References
‘Zero Tolerance’ a year later: How the US family separations crisis erupted | CNN
UN human rights chief ‘deeply shocked’ by migrant detention center conditions in Texas | Washington Post
Inside a Texas building where the government is holding immigrant children | The New Yorker
Exclusive: Migrant children report verbal abuse, threats while in Border Patrol custody | Yahoo News
El Paso, Texas, Is At The Forefront Of The Immigration Crisis | NPR
Hungry, Scared and Sick: Inside the Migrant Detention Center in Clint, Tex. | New York Times
How the Stress of Separation and Detention Changes the Lives of Children | The New Yorker
Lengthy Detention Of Migrant Children May Create Lasting Trauma, Say Researchers | NPR
US: Family Separation Harming Children, Families | Human Rights Watch
Government watchdog: Separated migrant children suffered PTSD, other mental trauma | USA Today
Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody | Office of Inspector General
Pelosi takes a hit as Congress approves border crisis money | Los Angeles Times
Twitter thread: legal volunteer account of CBP facilities | @ECMcLaughlin
ICE Just Quietly Opened Three New Detention Centers, Flouting Congress’ Limits | Mother Jones
NILC Denounces New Trump Rule to Hold Children and Families in Detention Indefinitely | National Immigration Law Center
The US won’t provide flu vaccines to migrant families at border detention camps | CNBC
Mumps outbreak in the camps: What's going on in Trump's detention centers? | Slate
36 Jewish Activists Were Arrested While Protesting an ICE Detention Center in New Jersey | Teen Vogue
18 People Were Arrested at a Boston “Jews against ICE” Protest | Boston Magazine
Capitol Police arrest 18 protesting ICE, treatment of detained migrants | Roll Call
Twitter thread: Jewish protests of the detention and abuse of immigrants in DHS detention facilities | @RebeccaKling
But What Can I Possibly Do? | RebeccaKling.com