\u201cWhat we\u2019ve been doing is ensuring the average length of stay at [family detention] facilities is 20 days or less. And we\u2019re meeting that standard,<\/em>\u201d Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said<\/a>\u00a0last week, sparking an outcry from the women being held in Berks County Detention Center in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Immigration Department has made a public announcement stating that in family detention center parents and children are detained no longer than 20 days. We want to disprove this information!<\/em>\u201d the women stated in an open letter<\/a>\u00a0to Homeland Security.<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n \u201cWe are 22 mothers who are detained at Berks Family Residential Center being mothers who have been from 270 days to 365 days\u2026 We are calling on the government to take action on this matter and open their eyes, letting them know that Immigration is acting against the law and is mocking them, making arguments that are false,<\/em>\u201d the letter stressed.<\/p>\n The women, who come mostly from Central America, are being detained pending court decisions on whether they should be deported. The women said they fear that their children\u2019s health, both mental and physical, will suffer as a result of their long confinement, as they have refused to eat and been depressed, with some even having \u201cthought about suicide.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey grab [the cords of] their ID cards and tighten them around their necks and say they are going to kill themselves if they don\u2019t get out<\/em>,\u201d the letter states,<\/em>\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n The mothers are urging the authorities to at least adhere to the Flores Agreement<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a 1997 act that governs the standards for the detention and treatment of minors in immigration custody. They demand that \u201cjuveniles be released from custody without unnecessary delay<\/em>\u201d to those who are ready to take care of them. The Berks mothers claim that all of their children have relatives in the States who are ready to help out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have children ages 2 to 16 years old, [deprived] of having a normal life\u2026 They ask us if we have the courage to escape. We are desperate, and have decided that we will get out alive or dead,<\/em>\u201d the mothers write.<\/p>\n The protest has drawn the attention of human rights groups, with New York based Human Rights First calling on the Obama administration to \u201cend its policy of detaining women and children seeking US protection.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Obama Administration\u2019s detention of families has had severely traumatizing effects on both children and their mothers,<\/em>\u201d said<\/a>\u00a0Olga Byrn of Human Rights First, who has been to Berks several times. \u201cEven a few days in detention can be harmful to the health of children. Some of these mothers and children have been held in US immigration detention for over one year now. This approach is not only devastating to children, it is also a shocking waste of government resources,<\/em>\u201d Byrn pointed out.<\/p>\n Another human rights watchdog, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), has posted an online invitation asking readers to send the striking women a letter<\/a>\u00a0of support on ActionSprout.<\/p>\n There have also been protests outside the facility, with relatives and friends of the detained \u201cMadres Berks<\/em>,\u201d as well as those concerned with their fates, demanding their immediate release.<\/p>\n A total of 32 women are currently being housed at the Berks center, according to philly.com<\/a>. Berks\u2019 license was revoked in February of this year by Philadelphia authorities due to reports<\/a>\u00a0of \u201cnumerous human rights abuses, including a rape by a guard, labor abuses, and medical neglect of the families and children,<\/em>\u201d but the center has been allowed to keep operating during an appeals process.<\/p>\n Berks is technically considered an \u201cunsecured<\/em>\u201d detention center, meaning those detained there could technically leave if they chose to. Yet, without proper documents, they would be considered fugitives after leaving the center and be subject to arrest by immigration authorities.<\/p>\n The Obama administration operates two family detention centers in the state of Texas apart from the one in Berks County. All three have been a constant source of allegations of poor treatment and conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Via RT<\/a>. This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission or license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Twenty-two women have gone on a hunger strike to draw attention to their \u201cconfinement\u201d with their children. While Homeland Security says migrants are never held for more than 20 days, some have spent over a year in the Pennsylvania detention center. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve been doing is ensuring the average length of stay at [family detention] […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":261548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[519],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-261547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-newswire"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n ![\"\u00a9\u00a0Jorge](\"https:\/\/img.rt.com\/files\/2016.03\/thumbnail\/56f47b63c4618879788b45f9.jpg\")
\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n