Volunteers at Texas detention center |
Indian American attorney Shikha Hamilton characterized the week she spent at the Karnes, Texas County Residential Center, helping detained undocumented immigrants to get out of the facility, as witnessing a side of America she had never before encountered. Hamilton was one of more than 6,000 volunteer attorneys who immediately mobilized with Lawyers For Good Government last May as Immigration and Customs Enforcement started separating undocumented parents from their children at the nation’s borders. The long-time San Francisco Bay Area resident went to Karnes on the week of Aug. 19, as ICE was reuniting some fathers with their sons at the facility. At that point, many had been separated for more than three months. They were literally pulled apart from their fathers, Hamilton told India-West. The trauma of being separated will haunt them for the rest of their lives. The horror continued to unfold last month as several publications reported that undocumented children were being moved from facilities to tent cities in West Texas, where they have no access to school or legal help. The New York Times reported that children are spending up to 60 days in ICE custody; more than 13,000 immigrant children are being held by the agency.
|
|