When my boyfriend was detained, the first few days were pure panic. I was lucky enough to be present when it happened, so I could ask questions and get some information, but even with that, I was still left in the dark when he was taken. I had to learn fast that ICE will not make this easier for families. They will not answer your questions directly, they will not volunteer information, and that confusion adds trauma on top of an already horrifying situation.

This is not just about me, my boyfriend, or our situation. So many families are thrown into chaos the moment a loved one is detained. People do not know where their person is, whether they have been processed, how to find their A-number, or what steps they need to take to get legal help and prepare a bond case. Those first days matter so much, and right now families are being forced to navigate one of the worst moments of their lives without basic information.

ICE must be required to give immediate detention and case information to families and legal representatives. That means timely notice of where a person is headed upon detainment, where they are being held, if they have access to food, water, medication, when they are transferred, and how families can access their A-number and case status as soon as that information exists. No one should have to beg for the bare minimum while their loved one is being dehumanized in a holding facility and they are scrambling to find a lawyer.

I am speaking because I wish I had known all of this before it happened to me. Families should not have to become experts in detention overnight just to survive. Please sign this petition and demand that ICE stop using confusion and silence as part of their punishment.