Rep. Chu Statement at Judiciary Committee Immigration and Customs Enforcement Oversight Hearing

Washington, D.C. – Today, Sarah Saldaña, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), testified before the House Judiciary Committee. At the hearing, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), a member of the Committee, made the following statement:

“The recent expansion of family detention from approximately 80 detention beds to now more than 2,400 beds at the new Dilley detention center is truly alarming. A vast majority of these women and children escaping the Northern Triangle region are fleeing domestic and or gang violence and abuse. In 2011, El Salvador had the highest rate of gender-motivated killing of women in the world, followed by Guatemala, and Honduras. These women are escaping some of the most dangerous countries in the world to seek protection in the U.S.—and instead they and their children face prolonged detention while they fight their asylum claims. In my view, there is no way to detain families humanely.

“When I first learned the average age of a child in family detention is only 6 years old, and that there are even babies and toddlers being detained, I was truly shocked. As a psychologist, I know the mental health concerns that children and families in detention face. Detention in jail-like facilities re-traumatizes victims of violence, and children in particular. Reports showed that children in detention experience weight loss, gastro-intestinal problems, and suicidal thoughts. Dr. Luis Zayas, Dean of Social Work at the University of Texas-Austin interviewed several families at the Karnes Residential Center and found that mothers and children showed “high levels of anxiety—especially separation anxiety for the children—symptoms of depression, and feelings of despair. Children showed signs that detention had caused developmental regression, such as reversion to breastfeeding, and major psychiatric disorders, including suicidal ideation.” Dr. Zayas further states in his Affidavit “the ongoing stress, despair, and uncertainty of detention….significantly compromises the child’s intellectual and cognitive development and contributes to the development of chronic illnesses in ways that may be irreversible.”

“These very serious psychological concerns combined with the many due process concerns - including prohibitively high bonds and difficulty accessing lawyers—makes family detention a truly troubling institution that runs contrary to basic human rights. In fact, it runs contrary to the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, regarding at that time INS’s detention of children. The agreement requires that juveniles be held in the least restrictive setting appropriate to their age and special needs and generally in a non-secure facility licensed to care for dependent minors. Detaining children in prison like facilities that are both secure and unlicensed runs contrary to the very heart of the Flores Agreement. And as we speak, Flores class counsel have petitioned the court to enforce the agreement, in light of the expansion on family detention.

“Director Saldaña, given the concerning mental and physical health effects on children in prolonged detention, I urge you to adopt a family detention policy that minimizes the lengthy detention of children and uses more humane tools, like alternatives to detention.”