Why Children Are in Detention 

GUEST POST by MARY DUNN

“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.”  from, Home by Warsan Shire

Those seeking refuge along the southern border are among those who flee violence, poverty, and climate catastrophes from around the world. It is estimated that 26 million people are on the move fleeing their homes.

Those who arrive at the border endure months of dangerous travel, extreme temperatures, encounters with cartels, and persecution in unsafe Mexican border communities. Yet they come because this is better than what they leave behind. Try to visualize what it would take for you to grab your kids/grandkids, documents, and leave your home and all you know.

A mother and her children crossing the border from Mexico to Texas, running from tear gas (Time magazine)

Our country prides itself on democracy and justice. We expect and assume those arriving at borders to be greeted with dignity. But that is not the case.

As someone who has worked along the border, I can tell you without hesitation that mainstream media and many in government service do not share the truth of what is happening and who is coming. Poor treatment of those seeking a safer life is not new. Fueled by overt racism, both parties have been responsible for this for over a century.

While many children come alone, there are those whose parents make the heartbreaking decision to send them across without them because unaccompanied children are allowed to enter. Imagine the pain of such a decision. Family separation continues.

Unescorted youngsters along the Mexico side of a chain-link fence on the banks of the Rio Grande (New York Post)

Children wind up in for-profit detention centers rather than with family.

Humanitarian border organizations tell us that children (and adults) can be processed in days and on their way to their families. But because of financial incentives they are instead often shipped to detention facilities where they are held for months. Imagine the fear of a child who is alone and doesn’t speak English experiencing this. Imagine your child or grandchild experiencing this.

Soccer balls which landed on the other side of the fence at a remote child detention center in Texas (photo by Julie Swift)

Homestead was the largest child detention facility in the U.S. It was run by a company that made millions each year off the detention of children who were separated from their families at the border.

John Kelly, Chief of Staff to then president Trump, was coauthor of the child separation policy. He was also on the Homestead board of directors and thus profited from this decision and its operation. This is one example of why child detention in the U.S. operates. It is not to serve a perceived need or the best interests of children; it is to create profits.

Homestead, largest child detention center outside El Paso, Texas (photo by Julie Swift)

It has been reported that while in detention, girls’ periods are monitored, physical/ emotional/ sexual abuses are rampant, depression and suicidal thoughts are prevalent.

Food is abysmal, lack of education and recreation facilities are the norm. Siblings are separated, and workers are hired without background checks. Families and lawyers often have no idea where the child is. The detention of children in the U.S. is so horrific that international and national organizations such as Amnesty International have labeled it, Crimes Against Humanity.

When families arrived from Ukraine they were not separated. They were provided with shelter, beds, food, medical aid, showers, legal advice, and travel help. This was all arranged in a matter of days for tens of thousands of Ukrainians. This is how it should be. It demonstrates we have the capacity.

Ukraine refugees are readily admitted to the US (PBS photo)

The U.S. southern border is heavily militarized. The cruelty of Border Patrol and Customs and Border workers as well as the facilities they operate are something we should be ashamed of and angry about.

Our tax dollars support this inhumane detention system. There is no moral reason why one of the wealthiest countries in the world does not humanely process children quickly to be with the family members waiting for them.

The author (in red cap) and friend, Charlie, standing outside Homestead Child Detention Center (photo by Tina Marie Davidson)

If you would like to support the effort of an organization working to free children from detention and unite them with their families, I recommend Al Otro Lado – https://alotrolado.org/

Mary Dunn is a retired educator and parent of two grown children. She has spoken and written on social justice issues related to our immigration policies and healthy school food programs. Mary has been to Homestead to bear witness and has worked with humanitarian organizations on both sides of the southern border. Mary enjoys gardening and knitting in her spare time.