Published by National Catholic Reporter, June 10, 2014
As more Central American migrants cross into the Southwest United States, the Department of Homeland Security wants community organizations to help care for detained families.
Two planes carried 270 detained immigrants to El Paso, Texas, for processing over the weekend. The immigrants, all members of families, are being released while they await deportation proceedings.
Churches and nonprofit organizations are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ensure that the families have access to food and services upon their release, said Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House, at a press conference Monday.
Immigration officials reached out to Annunciation House, which serves migrants, to warn of the influx of immigrants into El Paso, Garcia said, praising the collaboration. “We need your help; we want your help,” he said they told him. “We want these people to be treated like human beings.”
ICE has been releasing families from custody because of a lack of detention facilities, but it has come under fire in recent weeks for its treatment of released migrants. …
Megan Sweas 
Leave a Reply