Urgent — We Need Your Help To Stop Kids From Growing Up In Jail

By Naureen Shah, Senior Director of Campaigns

What is going on now?

After this summer’s uproar over the forced separation of thousands of parents and kids, President Trump signed a deceptive executive order. Instead of separating kids and their parents, Trump wants them together — in detention.

But in the US, we’ve fought for almost two decades to prevent kids from having to grow up in jail. That’s why, under a court settlement called Flores, the government has to release kids from detention as soon as possible — and at least within 20 days.

Now, the government wants to change things. The Trump administration wants to hold kids in indefinite detention with their parents. Like family separation, it’s another Trump horror story: Kids growing up in jail, together with their parents. Take action now.

What is the Trump administration trying to do?

Already, kids and parents are being detained every day, but the government only has space for about 3,000 of them. If the Trump administration has its away, it’ll be able to hold kids and parents together indefinitely and put around 12,000 families in new detention sites — imagine military bases holding kids, and families living in American tent cities. Join us in telling the Trump administration: No child should have to grow up in jail.

What will happen if we aren’t able to stop them?

We’ll see kids growing up in jail. The government says that kids and their parents won’t be held for all that long — presumably, after an unspecified period, they’ll be put on a fast track to deportation, without ever having a real opportunity to make their case for asylum in a court. For families whose asylum claims make it to immigration court, they could be detained for months or longer while their cases are heard. Immigration proceedings can take years — and we already know that time in detention can wreak havoc on the mental and physical health of kids.

What can we do?

The Trump administration has just put us on notice: They want to issue a new rule that will give them a blank check for jailing kids in family detention.

But we can stall the Trump administration’s awful power grab. Between now and November 6, the government has to accept comments on their new rule, from the public. Take action.

Everyone has the right to submit a comment on the Trump administration’s proposed rule on family detention. It’s just like the fight over Net Neutrality — if we flood the government with comments, they have to read them — all of them! That means the more comments we submit, the more we slow down the Trump administration by making them listen to us. We’re aiming for 50,000 comments — that’s 50,000 voices speaking out for humanity and human rights. Will you join us?