Last spring, as the number of families crossing the border in Texass Rio Grande Valley climbed, ICE released many families pending their appearance for deportation hearings. Due to a lack of facilities in Texas, it transported hundreds of parents and children by bus from Texas to Tucson, Phoenix and elsewhere. In June, the government opened a family-detention facility in Artesia, N.M. followed by another in August, in Karnes, Texas, that is operated by the private-prison company Geo Group Inc. Those facilities can hold up to 1,200 people. Parents with children, and pregnant women are detained in Artesia or Karnes. About half the children were six years old or younger, according to a study by the Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service and the Womens Refugee Commission. ICE also plans, in December, to open another detention center in Dilley, Texas, to be operated by the private-prison company Corrections Corporation of America. That center would initially hold up to 680 people, but could be expanded to house as many as 2,400. As many as 98 percent of the families being held in Artesia and Karnes are seeking asylum, based on claims they are fleeing violence. azcentral/story/news/politics/immigration/2014/11/12/answering-key-questions-child-migration-what-happens-families/18941257/
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 18:03:01 +0000
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