Los Angeles Times (Editorial-California)
August 13, 2015
The
surge of mothers crossing the Mexican border last summer with their
children, but without permission, sorely tested the federal government's
immigration detention
system. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials then exacerbated
the problem by detaining hundreds of them as an example to others of
what would happen if they made the same dangerous trip from Central
America to the United States.
It is unconscionable to imprison children simply because their mothers are trying to find a better life for them.
A
federal judge this year rightly ordered the government to stop using
detention as a deterrent, and the government ended the practice. Still,
and even though the flow
across the border has ebbed, ICE holds upward of 1,400 mothers and
children in three detention centers while investigators determine
whether they have sufficient grounds to seek permission to stay. U.S.
District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee ruled last month that
detaining those children in what she found to be "deplorable"
conditions violated the 1997 Flores vs. Meese settlement, in which the
government agreed to hold detained minors in nonprison settings licensed
to care for children.
Gee
made the right call; it is unconscionable to imprison children simply
because their mothers are trying to find a better life for them. The
government, which argues
that it has improved conditions in the detention centers, last week
asked Gee to reconsider her ruling. She shouldn't. What's more, the
government should stop defending this indefensible practice and find
smarter, more humane ways to house those seeking legal
permission to remain in the country.
As
we've noted before, the government has the right and duty to determine
who enters the country. But it should not treat as suspected criminals
those who are lawfully
seeking asylum or other permission to stay. The government should be
able to detain unlawful immigrants it believes pose a risk to public
safety. It also has an interest in ensuring that those seeking asylum
show up for their hearings. But detention should
be a last resort, especially given the available alternatives,
including electronic monitoring and reliance on immigration support
agencies and pro bono legal services experienced in getting their
clients to court.
The
government told Gee that it was converting its three family detention
centers into immigrant processing centers and that the conditions she
rejected have been improved.
Immigrant advocates argue that little, in fact, has changed. The
government also suggests, unpersuasively, that releasing the mothers and
children pending hearings would incentivize more illegal immigration.
Few
argue that illegal immigration isn't a problem. But incarcerating
minors who have broken no criminal codes isn't the solution.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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