Baby Jail

“I am a legal assistant.” That was my motto last week as I volunteered with the CARA pro bono project in Dilley, Texas. CARA offers free legal representation to mothers and children in detention who have fled violence in their countries, seeking refuge in the US. (https://cliniclegal.org/CARA)

     When we arrived at the South Texas Family Residential Center, the first obvious thing we noticed was how full the expansive parking lot was. Run by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Baby Jail as we came to call it, employs about 700 people according to the CCA website. Full capacity is for 2400 women and children, but 290 residents were detained the week I spent there. Baby Jail is big business. See this article for more.

     Each morning and after returning from lunch we had to pass through security along with the employees. Belts, laptops, and tablets were removed, and bags were searched and x-rayed. Employees had see-through clear plastic backpacks and tote bags to speed up the security process. Cell phones and cameras were prohibited, and so were left in hotels, cars, or in a locker. Sometimes a compact mirror, a charging cable, or an external battery that had not been a problem for several days previously, suddenly became contraband. We passed through a metal detector ourselves and were waved with a wand as well. We all signed in and surrendered drivers licenses, the attorneys also surrendering their bar cards.

     On Monday morning I was still feeling insecure about my qualifications (repeating to myself: I am a legal assistant, I am a legal assistant), so I decided to check out the guarderia, the nursery or child care room. Moms left their children in this room while they themselves spent time with the attorneys and legal assistants. It was not a large room, and it was busy. Keep in mind that every woman who came in for assistance by definition had at least one child with her. I spent the morning from about 8:00 – 11:30 in the guarderia, and saw children ranging in age from 2-12 years. Children any older than that would have been bored. Actually, those older than about 8 were bored. There was no alternative for adolescents, so they merely sat in the waiting room. Most children were in the guarderia for at least an hour at a time, and we had up to 12 children there at once, maximum capacity for the size of the room. There was no room to play any games or teach any songs or dance. Often there were additional children hanging around the waiting room because the guarderia was so crowded.

     My initial impression was favorable: there was a large television screen, some small tables and child-size chairs, lots of coloring books and crayons, and a few toys. But I quickly realized that to spend more than an hour in this room and to return there at all during the week, which all the children did, there was simply not enough to do. There was one actual book to read, not to color. One. There was one set of blocks, which could realistically be shared between two children. But it was the best toy there, so of course most of the children wanted to play with it. Later in the week I learned that the children had been fighting over the blocks so the guards took them away. That might be an appropriate response at home with your 2 or 3 kids, where you can tell them to go play outside or read a book instead, but in this setting a kinder solution would have been to provide more blocks, not take away the one decent toy the children had. This is not a matter of funding. Recall that CCA is a big business. Additionally, volunteers would happily provide more toys, but we were not allowed to bring in anything for the children or the women.

     The method of choice for the guards to “care” for the children was to show Disney movies and turn up the volume. We could usually hear the movies on the far side of the visitation room when we were helping clients. The irony of The Little Mermaid giving up her voice in order to be with a man was not lost on me, in a room where the children’s mothers were fighting to have their voices heard after horrible violence and abuse by the men in their lives.

     You may be wondering where I’m going with this. Here it is: Detaining children as young as 2 years old is not only unnecessary and inhumane, it is also illegal according to the US’s own laws. I refer you to this link

to see that the Flores case and Judge Gee’s recent ruling upholding it both require that the US stop detaining immigrant children. Sadly, horrifyingly, the Baby Jail that I have just described is trying to get around these rulings by applying for a child care license! Yes, and the State of Texas has actually lowered their child care standards so that Baby Jail can qualify. At the above link you will also find an easy way to add your name to petitions to President Obama and your members of Congress to advocate against this.

     Honestly, would you ever consider the standards of Baby Jail for your child’s day care? Would you want your child to be parked in front of loud cartoons while you go to work? Would you want your child to have nothing but coloring books and crayons to play with for days or weeks on end? Would you give your child one book and call it sufficient?

     I know some of you will argue that these people are here illegally so we really aren’t obligated to give them anything. I remind you that the US is also detaining them illegally. I further remind you of the numerous places where God’s Word commands us to welcome strangers and foreigners. I include a small sampling of them here.

In conclusion, detention of immigrant children is unnecessary, inhumane, and unlawful. Baby Jail’s attempt to get around the law is unconscionable, and must be stopped. Please use the above link or another method to contact President Obama and your members of Congress to make your voice heard on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.