LULAC Responds to New Policies on Family Detention

July 15, 2015

Washington, D.C. – LULAC National President, Roger Rocha, released the following statement regarding the announcement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency that it plans to release qualifying mothers and children detained after attempting to cross the U.S border:

"The agency’s decision to reconsider its policy to detain families who are seeking to establish eligibility for asylum is a positive step forward. LULAC supports the agency's commitment to review the cases of those individuals who have been in detention for over 90 days.

LULAC remains concerned by the substandard holding facilities used by ICE for detainees, including mothers and children, whose only crime is to seek a better life. For example, according to recent reports, the Eloy Detention Center outside of Tucson, Arizona has reported 14 detainee deaths since 2003.

LULAC, along with hundreds of lawmakers, has called for an immediate end to family detention and will continue to monitor the agency as it proceeds with the new policies. We welcome an opportunity to work with the agency in establishing more humane, less costly and more productive alternatives to the detention of families in prison facilities."

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.lulac.org.