We need your help and we need it now! You might have heard  that U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee “ordered the release of children held with their parents in U.S. immigration jails and denounced the Trump administration’s prolonged detention of families during the coronavirus pandemic.” (Time.com)

Judge Gee’s order applies to all children who have been held for more than 20 days (some have been detained for a year!) at three family detention centers operated by ICE, one in Pennsylvania and two in Texas. Judge Gee went as far as stating these centers are “on fire and there’s no more time for half measures.” As of June 8th, that’s 124 of our Black and Brown children, mostly from Central America and Haiti.

The order gives ICE and the Trump administration until July 17th to release the children. But here’s the fine line and why we need to mobilize NOW:

Judge Gee left it at ICE’s discretion whether they will release the currently-detained migrant children with their mothers or by themselves. Judge Gee was also clear in stating that if the facility is found to be unsafe for families due to COVID, those parents need to be released as well. Ultimately, ICE will be choosing for these families to separate from their children to protect them from COVID or to stay together. This is not a choice any parent should have to face, especially while in a jail that’s “on fire.” Leaving the fate of these families at ICE's discretion brings us back to where we started — using children and family separation as a devastating political tool.

WE MUST ACT NOW TO #FREETHEFAMILIES FROM ICE DETENTION. CHILDREN DON'T BELONG IN JAILS !

Our Demands to ICE and DHS: Follow Judge Gee’s court order and release all detained children with their families by the court-imposed deadline of July 17th. We will not tolerate family separation. Children don’t belong in jails, end family detention NOW. 

THERE’S NO MORE TIME! LET'S USE THE POWER OF OUR VOICES TO TAKE ACTION NOW AND #FREETHEFAMILIES