The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Justice for Immigrants campaign encourages Catholics to use its website to send the following message to President Obama and members of Congress:
As a Catholic, I am opposed to the use of family detention.
Detaining women and children who are fleeing persecution and violence demeans the God-given human dignity of these vulnerable people. Many of the women and children confined at new detention facilities in New Mexico and Texas are survivors of domestic and targeted community violence.
These young women and their children have endured trauma and abuse in their home countries in Central America and also have experienced abuse along their migration journey. They are coming to the United States for protection from violence and have been subsequently detained by our government. Alternatives to detention, like community-based models and case management, are effective at ensuring compliance with immigration court proceedings.
As a person of faith and a voter, I urge you to oppose any expansion to the family detention system and to begin implementing community-based alternatives to detention.