FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2023
Contact: Margaret Cargioli (MCargioli@immdef.org) or (213) 833-8283
LOS ANGELES – Recent news reports indicate that the Biden administration is considering resuming the detention of families who enter the United States in search of protection. In response, the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) issued the following statement:
“The news that the Biden administration is considering reviving the practice of throwing children and families in ICE detention centers is disturbing. It is yet another profound disappointment that the Biden administration is looking to some of the darkest days of the Trump administration for ideas on how to meet families seeking asylum with cruelty rather than dignity. The fact that this administration, which ran on promises to restore humanity at the border, is considering such a morally bankrupt plan proves how far their sense of how to treat the most vulnerable among us has fallen,” said Lindsay Toczylowski Executive Director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
“Whether it is a continued insistence on using Title 42 to exclude asylum seekers, proposing a new asylum ban, or now threatening to renew family detention, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the Biden and Trump administrations when it comes to immigration policy,” said Alvaro M. Huerta, Director of Litigation & Advocacy at ImmDef. “It boggles the mind to think that President Biden would even consider something as cruel and heartless as detaining families—something he condemned the Trump administration for doing.”
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Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends our immigrant communities against injustices in the legal system. We envision a future where no immigrant will be forced to face immigration court alone. Our programs are a first step towards the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.