By Amelia Bell

On Behalf of the Women’s Refugee Commission

In September, I had the opportunity to observe immigration court proceedings for asylum seekers detained in the family detention facility in Artesia, New Mexico. I watched these proceedings via video conference from an Arlington, Virginia courtroom— thousands of miles away from the families in Artesia. The judge, an interpreter, and the government’s attorney were in Arlington, while the mothers and children seeking asylum sat in Artesia. What I saw through that video camera strengthened my belief that the United States must end family detention.

I watched mother after mother swear to the judge that her asylum application was true—that she feared returning to her home country. And on top of those fears—whether related to violence, abuse, or other trauma—these mothers still faced a difficult path to obtain asylum in the United States. The experiences of these mothers seemed unimaginable. Yet, I was most struck by the young children sitting next to each mother.

Every woman who had a court appearance that day was a mother, detained with at least one young child—most of them under five years old. These children sat next to their mothers in a big, empty concrete room serving as a courtroom for the day, many wearing a standard issue prison-type jacket. They looked so out of place in this environment that they were almost unrecognizable as children.

Right before one hearing started, I watched a young girl whisper to her mom that she was thirsty. She seemed too terrified to speak to anyone, even with a simple request for water. The only detention center staff member present was busy running back and forth between makeshift courtrooms, so the attorney for the case (one of the many attorneys who have rushed to Artesia to provide the families with legal representation) hunted down a red plastic cup and filled it with water for the girl. Another little boy, who couldn’t have been older than four, kept trying to run around the empty room in an attempt to entertain himself. His mother and her attorney repeatedly told him to stop and sit down because they needed to focus on the court proceeding. It broke my heart to watch them being told they shouldn’t act like children, while having to sit through asylum proceedings conducted in a cold detention center, in an unfamiliar country, and in a language they don’t understand.

Detention is not the place for children. With little schooling and few places to play, the children in the Artesia facility aren’t allowed to be kids. Every child deserves access to enough food and water, playtime, and a safe, nurturing environment. Detention does not, and cannot, provide an environment appropriate for children.

Even though the federal government announced yesterday that Artesia will be closed, it won't be the end of large scale family detention in the U.S. In response to the influx of migrant children and young families entering the U.S. over the summer, and for the purpose of trying to deter future asylum seekers from seeking protection in the United States, the government opened the larger Artesia facility and another in Karnes County, Texas. Family detention has gone from 90 beds to what will soon be more than 3,000 beds in less than a year. For years, human rights advocates have confirmed that it is impossible to humanely detain families and children. Unfortunately, the government has plans to open an additional family detention facility in Dilley, Texas later this year. This new facility is slated to have a capacity of 2,400 detainees, making it the largest immigration detention center in the country.

Instead of focusing resources on opening another family detention facility, the government should work to expand alternatives to detention, which can include release on parole, telephonic monitoring, and community support programs. These alternatives are not only more humane than detaining thousands of children and families, but they are also more economical and are effective at ensuring that individuals appear in immigration court. By expanding alternatives to detention, rather than expanding detention facilities, we can provide children with a safer, more nurturing environment, and give them the opportunity to be kids.

Please join me in signing onto a letter asking President Obama and Congress to treat these child refugees humanely by clicking here.