Bridges Faith Initiative Condemns Biden Plans to Reintroduce Family Detention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2023

Contact: policy@bridgesfi.org

The New York Times reported that the Biden Administration plans to reintroduce family detention. President Biden was phasing out the practice that had been ramped up by the Trump administration. 

Bridges Faith Initiative is greatly disappointed by this news and condemns any decision that does not welcome with care and dignity. The immigrant family detention system is cruel and inhumane. Below is a statement from BFI president Rabbi Joshua Lesser,

“Detention is no place for a family. We urge the Biden Administration to keep families together and reject this cruel policy. No one belongs in cages. Our communities are meant to be loved, not locked up.”
Family detention, which in practice is primarily detaining mothers and children, is inhumane, unsafe, unsanitary, and abusive. Many health professionals have spoken out on the abuse and long term harms family detention has on children. We call on President Biden to end family detention and reinstate policies that welcome asylum seekers with dignity.