Reopening Homestead Detention Center Is the Wrong Move

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action and Bend the Arc: Jewish Action South Florida released the following statement on Thursday on the Biden Administration's decision to reopen immigration detention centers in Homestead, Florida, and Carrizo Springs, Texas:

"The Biden administration's priority should be repairing the damage from the inhumane and cruel policies of the Trump administration, and this is simply the wrong direction" said Laurie Scop, a leader with Bend the Arc: Jewish Action South Florida. "As a social worker and a survivor of child abuse, it's painful to see such pain and trauma inflicted onto children - invisible wounds that people spend their whole lives trying to heal from. It's hard to grasp the enormity of the harm being inflicted on these children, which will last long after these detention centers are finally closed."

"The American people spoke loud and clear in November when we voted to build a country where all are safe and free, no matter what we look like or where we come from," said Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. "Jewish Americans know what it's like to be treated like outsiders and it's why we rejected Donald Trump's cruelty toward immigrants and asylum seekers. Guided by our call to 'welcome the stranger,' we have a long history of fighting for the rights of immigrants. Reopening these detention centers is the opposite of what the coalition that helped elect President Biden expects of his administration and we must continue pressing for a system that treats all immigrants with dignity and respect. The administration must act swiftly to unite these children with their sponsors so these centers can be closed for good."

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action South Florida members have participated in a number of actions over the past several years in solidarity with local immigration justice leaders, including actions outside the Homestead Detention Center.