Before he was taken in the middle of the night to immigration detention, Pedro Guzman was a devoted stay-at-home dad. Now, Pedro only sees his wife, Emily (an American citizen) and their son, Logan every couple months--whenever Emily (now a single, working mom) can manage the expensive nine hour trek from their home in North Carolina to the detention center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Even once they've made it to Pedro's facility, Emily and Logan are often forced to wait hours after their appointment time. The reward for their patience? A one-hour visit with dad through a plexiglass screen. 

Like many immigration detention centers throughout the country, Stewart Detention Center does not permit contact visits. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leaves the question of contact visits up the discretion of the individual facility. Many of the centers opt not to allow it.

As stated in the well-known report "Locked Up But Not Forgotten": “In effect, immigration detention is punishment — not just for the immigrants in detention, but for their families and communities as well.” Our immigration system treats immigrant detainees like dangerous, life-threatening criminals. Ultimately, what use is keeping them apart from their families other than to break them of their will to fight their case? 

This must change.  Tell ICE to reform their policies to allow contact visits to behaving, non-violent detainees across the board. It's only human.