Home Press Room

Intervene at INS

Your report on the arrests and detentions of hundreds of Middle Eastern men and teenagers described a man and his son being held incommunicado for four days.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has a history of treating refugee and immigrant families in this way. The agency has been known to separate mothers from infant children. On any given day the INS has more than 5,000 children in custody, and they are locked in harsh and punitive environments. We have documented the INS' routine use of county jails for children and adults, as well as the regular use of handcuffs and shackles and the lack of access to legal counsel.

Many of the teenagers and men who were detained are refugees who fled their countries looking for safety in the U.S. Now they fear the U.S. has turned into their oppressor. The White House needs to intervene and order the INS to find a new approach – one that does not include racial profiling and detention.

Mary Diaz
Executive director
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children