While In Our Care

These stories are only some of hundreds of sworn testimonies of children held in detention centers in 2018 and 2019. These declarations were filed in the class-action lawsuit Flores v. Barr, which began in 1985 to address the mistreatment of migrant children in detention facilities. The declarations were collected by immigration lawyers from different universities and institutions. All the children swear under penalty of perjury that their declarations are true and complete to the best of their abilities. 

You can learn more about this project here.

Many of these stories are from children who were separated from their parents during the implementation of the “zero tolerance” policy in the summer of 2018, when the U.S. government chose to criminally prosecute all adults who crossed the border instead of applying misdemeanor charges, as had been the common practice. Legal protections for migrant children, many of which were established by the Bush administration, prevented children from being detained in adult criminal facilities along with their parents, and so many children were separated from their parents. Zero tolerance resulted in at least 4,368 families being torn apart, and the Trump administration did not put in place a system of tracking the separations or making plans for eventual reunification. Many of the children were placed in crowded and under resourced shelters operated by the Department of Health and Human Services. The 2018 policy, as well as a lack of planning and resources for arriving children that continued into 2019, led to the horrific conditions you hear in these children’s testimonies.

Yes, these practices are no longer being employed. In response to widespread criticism from Members of Congress, faith groups and the general public, the Trump administration ended the Zero Tolerance policy in the fall of 2018. But conditions for migrant children remained poor throughout 2019, with many children held for prolonged periods in crowded holding centers without being reunited with their waiting family members. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration began expelling children to contexts of potential persecution and trafficking immediately after they arrived, in some cases secretly holding them for short periods in hotels in the U.S.  to facilitate the rapid expulsions. 

Conditions have improved, but they are still not ideal for children’s well-being. In January, the Biden administration stopped expelling unaccompanied children at the border and allowed them to enter the U.S. in accordance with the law. A subsequent increase in unaccompanied children at the border resulted in some shelters and facilities reaching capacity. During February and March, many children were detained longer than the legal limit of 72 hours in overcrowded Border Patrol holding centers, which are not designed or staffed to care for children. 

This prompted the Biden administration to open 15 emergency housing sites with FEMA and the Department of Health and Human services to get children out of CBP (Customs and Border Protection) custody faster. Since then, the number of children in CBP facilities has fallen by at least 88% since its peak in March. Some of these emergency facilities do not offer a full range of services for children. Investigations into some emergency intake sites have revealed unsafe conditions and abuses of children, underscoring the need to quickly process children into the care of their family members, transitional foster care, or into licensed facilities. The administration has also faced difficulty opening new facilities for children in a few states where governors have refused to cooperate.

Some of these children have been reunited with their families, but many have not. As of October 2020, 545 children separated at the border have not been reunited with their families, about 60 of whom were under the age of 5 when separated. Volunteers and non-profit organizations have taken the difficult work of reconnecting families with little assistance from the government. However, on February 2, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order creating a family reunification task force and committed to implementing immigration policies that protect family unity. The task force continues to reunite families when possible and provide support services to the children and families affected by the zero tolerance policy. As of early June, the task force had successfully reunited 36 families.

When children who arrive at the border are determined to be unaccompanied, they are required by law to be transferred from CBP holding cells, where they are first placed, within 72 hours. From there they must go to Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) shelters within the Department of Health and Human Services. ORR works with child welfare professionals to provide security, food, clothing, medical care, sanitation, mental health services, appropriate classroom education, and unification services facilitating their release to family members while they continue with their immigration court cases. Currently, most children are quickly moved to ORR care, but they are being held in emergency sites which do not all offer the full range of services listed above. Due to a lack of case managers, hundreds of children have been kept in these emergency shelters for over 60 days. Reports of food shortages and lack of mental health care have raised concerns, and new Flores testimonies indicate extremely poor conditions at multiple locations. Ideally, children would be rapidly moved on to licensed facilities, transitional foster care, or their family members.

We can advocate together and stand up for vulnerable children, insisting that our government always prioritize their wellbeing and protection. Our collective voices make a difference, so we need to make the current administration and decision makers hear that we care. We can urge the Biden administration to do the following:

• Ensure that children are never again systematically separated from parents at the border and that they never be held inappropriate conditions.
• Quickly reunite children who were separated from their parents  and provide every support possible to help children heal from the trauma that they have experienced. 
• Ensure that all children who interact with the Border Patrol and other entities of the United States government are treated humanely, are cared for and protected, then reunited with their parents or other family members as quickly as possible.
• Leverage the influence of the United States to address extreme poverty, violence, governmental corruption, and environmental degradation in Central America, which cause many to make the dangerous journey north in search of a better life.

We’re sending a letter to the current administration voicing these advocacy points. Join us and sign your name in support for these changes to happen.

Sign the Letter