Dozens of women stood with their children at the fence line of a Berks County, Pennsylvania detention center in August, to protest. They came seeking asylum, mostly from Central America, but were held there for months, their lawyers say, without explanation.
Dr. Andres Pumariega is on a government committee charged with investigating immigration detention policies.
Many of the families at the center were held for up to a year. Pumariega says when the committee asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide copies of its detention policies, the agency refused.
His group ultimately determined ICE should “simply avoid detaining families,” in part because of the effect on children at Berks.
ICE claims that “Many factors can contribute to the length of a resident’s stay,” including the status of their immigration cases.