FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2022
Contact: media@freedomforimmigrants.org
BERKS COUNTY, Pa. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) informed Berks County, Pennsylvania, officials yesterday that the agency will be ending its immigration detention contract with the county on January 31, 2023. Advocates and formerly detained immigrants offered the following statements in reaction to the news.
A father, identified as Mr. A., who was previously detained at Berks with his son said:
“There were 28 days of uncertainty and anguish with my son, where we had a false freedom, rules for everything we did, and we didn't have the security of being able to talk to someone inside Berks. We are happy that now they will have one less place to hold people.”
A mother, identified as J., who was formerly detained with her teenage child at Berks said:
“Thank God, today the victory is complete for us, and thanks to our attorneys who fought until the end.”
Another father, identified as Mr. H., who was detained at Berks with his six-year-old for seven months said:
“This is such good news. There will be no more traumas for children and adults in that place.”
Layla Razavi, interim executive director of Freedom for Immigrants (FFI), said:
“We applaud the courageous acts of those detained at Berks who have shed light on the truth about immigration detention over the years. These bold actions contributed to the relentless organizing of local Pennsylvania communities, including the Shut Down Berks Coalition and Shut Down Berks Interfaith Witness, who have fought to shut down Berks. This win is a testament to our communities’ collective power.
“While previous administrations had shifted their use of Berks over the past two decades, no amount of repurposing could ever change the inherently immoral and abusive nature of immigration detention. The administration’s decision to finally end immigration detention at Berks was the right call. We expect and urge the Biden administration to follow through with the immediate release of the women who remain detained back to safety of their families and communities. Moreover, we demand the administration heed the call of hundreds of civil society and community groups to cut more detention contracts. All immigration detention centers deprive people of their dignity, rights and freedom.”
Tonya Wenger, visitation coordinator with FFI Visitation Group Shut Down Berks Interfaith Witness and organizer with the Shut Down Berks Coalition said:
"After years of visitation to support, advocate for, and organize with the families and then adult women at Berks, we are beyond thrilled that this detention center is finally being shut down. The mistreatment and inherent inhumanity of immigrant incarceration will finally end in our county. Now, ICE needs to release the women, and we can begin to meet the real human needs for our community.”
###