CAIR-Houston Joins Mayor Turner in Rejecting Trump’s ‘Baby Jails,’ Urges Turn-Out at Family Separation Protest
(HOUSTON, TX, 6/22/18) – The Houston Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston) today expressed solidarity with Mayor Sylvester Turner who is rejecting Child Immigration Detention Centers, or “baby jails,” in that city would house children taken from their families at the border.
[IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: Join CAIR-Houston, in partnership with FIEL, on Friday, June 22 to protest the possible child detention center on Emancipation Park.This center will house children from 18 months to 17-years-old. El gobierno federal está planeando abrir un centro de detención en Housto
419 Emancipation Ave.]n. Este centro será para los niños entre los 18 meses y 17 años. Tenemos que luchar en contra de las pólizas que continúan a inhumanamente separan a los niños de sus padres. Date/Location: 6 p.m., Friday, June 22,
Reports have surfaced that a certain facility on Emancipation Park is under consideration for use as an immigration detention center for children. The owner of the former warehouse and homeless shelter was discovered to have signed a long-term lease with Southwest Key Programs, a nonprofit that runs over 25 immigration centers for children across three states including Texas.
SEE: Houston mayor doesn’t want to ‘enable’ Trump policy by housing immigrant children
SEE: ‘I can’t support it’: Mayor Turner rejects idea of child immigration detention center in Houston
The Trump administration has recently introduced policy to break apart families by separating children from their parents at the border. Photographic evidence has surfaced of the “baby jails” in which children are locked in cages and even numbered as a form of identification.
SEE: Trump migrant separation policy: Children ‘in cages’ in Texas
This Is What Terrified Migrant Kids Separated from Their Parents Sound Like
Private proprietors in multiple states have been approached to operate their facilities as immigrant jails, many specifically for children.
SEE: Big Money As Private Immigrant Jails Boom
Criticism of Trump’s policy has come from across the political spectrum, including condemnations from previous First Ladies and Trump’s own political party and family.
SEE: First Ladies Unite Against Separating Children at Border
CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.
The Washington-based organization’s recently-released 2018 Civil Rights Report, “Targeted,” showed a 17 percent increase in bias-motivated incidents against American Muslims from 2016 to 2017, and a 15 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in that same time period.
CAIR 2018 Civil Rights Report: Targeted
Community members are being urged to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by going to: https://www.cair.com/report
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Houston Staff Attorney Arsalan Safiullah, 713-366-6686, asafiullah@cair.com; CAIR-Houston Communications Coordinator Sobia Siddiqui, 832-782-3141, ssiddiqui@cair.com
