4537 3rd Ave. So.
Minneapolis, MN 55419
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Phone: 612.823.8205
Fax: 612.825.7028
For the third year in a row, SJA parents and children signed Christmas cards to send to migrant women and families in detention, bringing joy and hope to families who crossed our borders alone. Hope for the Holidays is a Christmas Card Campaign Sponsored by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). The Welcome The Stranger Ministry at St. Joan’s organized the LIRS card signing event on December 2nd. Kids and adults wrote messages of hope and joy, mostly in Spanish, to the detainees. We sent 275 cards.
Thousands of families flee violence and persecution from their home countries across the globe for the protection of America. However, when they arrive at our borders, many find shackles, not safety. The United States holds thousands of mothers and children (including nursing moms and babies) in detention centers – think jails – while their immigration cases are determined by the government. Families may be held in detention for months, sometimes years.
Right now, thousands of families are being held in three family immigration detention centers:
Here are some important facts and additional information about family detention: