On July 17, Texas-based organizations and national partners will hold a rally to demand the shut down of the Ft. Bliss migrant detention center and an end to child detention everywhere.
Currently, there are thousands of children being held in a network of mass “influx sites” and “emergency intake sites,” including toxic army bases like Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX. These sites represent the latest expansion of the massive U.S. immigration detention system, which is the largest in the world. The Biden administration quickly opened emergency intake sites earlier this year to prevent children from staying long periods of time in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.
Although we know no one, especially children, is safe in CBP custody, it has become clear that emergency intake and influx sites are NOT a solution. Emergency intake and influx sites, unlike licensed facilities managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), are subject to fewer regulations and oversight requirements, making them especially prone to abuse. When anyone, especially children, are held in mass-scale, restrictive, settings without access to trauma-informed individualized care, this is detention, not a shelter. With the reported capacity for detention of almost 10,000 children and wide documentation of abuse and inadequate conditions, Ft. Bliss stands as a shameful symbol of everything wrong with the U.S. government's long history of detaining immigrants, including children.
Join us to demand the closure of Ft. Bliss and the phasing out of all emergency intake and influx sites as well as a systemic change to the way we receive and care for unaccompanied migrant children and all immigrants.
Participating organizations: Border Network for Human Rights, Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, Detention Migrant Solidarity Committee, Coalition to End Child Detention, Detention Watch Network, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Mano Amiga, RAICES, Tsuru for Solidarity, United We Dream, AVID, and Witness at the Border.
In order to keep all of us safe, especially as more variants to COVID-19 emerge, we are asking registrants/participants to please observe COVID-19 safety measures at the rally. This includes using a facial mask while at the rally, maintaining social distancing (6 ft or more), getting vaccinated, if possible, and staying home if you are feeling sick and/or believe you may have experienced a COVID-19 exposure.