Press Release
Published on March 7, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Human Rights First strongly condemns the Trump administration’s decision to reinstate the human rights catastrophe of jailing minor children with their parents in immigration jails in Texas.
“For years we worked to expose the horrific conditions inside immigration jails, where vulnerable children and their parents suffered irreversible mental and physical health impacts, lasting trauma, medical neglect, and other horrifying documented abuses,” said Robyn Barnard, Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy at Human Rights First. “This revival of family detention ignores the clear warnings of medical professionals, human rights advocates, and even the government’s own experts—and it is absolutely shameful. We will not stand by as families are once again subjected to these horrific abuses.”
Human Rights First has long documented the sub-par conditions that existed in prior iterations of this policy and fought with families to end the inhumane policy in 2022. Family detention has been decried by the American Academy of Pediatrics, international authorities, members of Congress, faith leaders, human rights advocates, whistleblowers, the American Bar Association, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s own advisory committee. Human Rights First stands ready to assist the families in these jails with legal counsel, to hold the government accountable so long as the policy stands, and fight to end this travesty once again.
To speak with Barnard or others at Human Rights First please contact press@humanrightsfirst.org.
