Hillary Clinton Renews Commitment to Ending Inhumane Family Detention, Private Prisons

Women’s Refugee Commission applauds Clinton’s announcement, urges Obama Administration to end these practices now.

In a speech last night detailing her plan for immigration reforms, Hillary Clinton committed to ending family detention for parents and children arriving at the United States border, and to shuttering private immigration detention centers.

Michelle Brané, Director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, responded with the following statement:

“The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) welcomes Secretary Hillary Clinton’s renewed commitment to ending the inhumane practice of family detention and the detention of immigrants in private prisons, and calls on the Obama Administration to end these practices now. Family detention and private prison detention are establishments inextricably linked to the devastation and separation of thousands of families seeking refuge in America.

This Administration and future Administrations should take a holistic to the violence in Central America that is forcing children and families to flee for their lives by addressing root causes, and increasing access to asylum, refugee processing and improving due process protections for Central American children and refugees arriving in the U.S.

Moreover, the Administration should provide families with legal information and case management to ensure that they understand their obligations and appear for their immigration proceedings rather than locking up children and parents in prison like facilities. We maintain that the Administration should adopt the approach of focusing on asylum and refugee protection rather than continuing its current policies of separating families and conducting raids against teenagers and families with young children who are seeking protection in the U.S.”

For Immediate Release: September 16, 2016
Contact: Gabby Brown, gabby@newpartners.com