Advancing Justice - AAJC Denounces Any Plans to Reinstate Cruel Practice of Family Detention

STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact
Michelle Boykins (202) 296-2300, ext. 0144 mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org
Vivin Qiang 202-780-9327 vqiang@advancingjustice-aajc.org

Washington, D.C. — March 8, 2023 — Yesterday, reports emerged that the Biden Administration is considering the reinstatement of family detention, a practice that holds children and parents in immigration detention facilities where families may be locked up in inhumane conditions and for long periods of time that far exceed the 20-day limit set by the Flores court settlement. 

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC issues the following statement: 

“Advancing Justice - AAJC condemns any plans that relies on the unjust detention of immigrants and restrictions on asylum. Family detention, in any shape or form, would backtrack on commitments the President has made to our communities and goes against America’s own values. 

“From the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II to the increased detention of Black, Brown, and Indigenous immigrants since the so-called War on Terror, history has shown us time and time again that jailing families does not make anyone safer and only causes untold pain and trauma.  

“Punitive and failed policies being considered like family detention and bans on asylum do not bring any order to our broken immigration system. Deterrence efforts like this simply do not work, nor should it define our approach to immigration.  

“The Biden Administration must pursue true and viable solutions that underscore welcome and dignity. People and families should be able to ask for safety and pursue their immigration cases in freedom and in community.”