Today, we met a man who ICE separated from his 5 yr old daughter. We offered to represent him for free but he couldn’t stand being detained and signed his own deportation. Instead of helping him fight for bond, he asked us to help make sure his 5 yr old would be deported with him He said he never had been in prison, and didn’t expect to end up in such a terrible place when he asked for help at the border. He hasn’t spoken to his daughter since they were separated a month ago. He said he felt too depressed in detention to keep fighting his case

Want to know #WhereAreTheChildren ? Here’s what happens when a family seeks asylum at the US border (Thread) First, it’s important to know that it’s LEGAL to seek asylum at a Port of Entry. CBP is obligated to accept refugee families, but we’ve recorded hundreds of instances of unlawful turn-aways. Families lucky enough to be processed face a horrific system designed to tear them apart

Wanted to address the @jduffyrice thread on the dangers of conflating #WhereAreTheChildren with #EndFamilySeparation. She makes some good points, but #WhereAretheChildren is absolutely a question we should be asking - for slightly different reasons

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The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) houses immigrant children because it ostensibly can protect their best interests better than ICE - which it often can’t because ICE’s interests dictate many of its policies. It should be a child welfare agency, not a jailer

Do you want to help #EndFamilySeparation on the California border? Here are a few concrete ways you can help! 1/ Come to Tijuana and meet with families who are about to present themselves to seek asylum. Accompany them to the port of entry, then track them through the ICE detention system. We can see if they’ve been separated and mobilize legal, political, and popular support immediately