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:

• Karnes Family Residential Center, Karnes City, TX
• South Texas Residential Center, Dilley, TX
• Berks Family Detention Center, Berks, PA

Here are some important facts and additional information about family detention:

• Since 2014, family detention has increased by 4,000%. There are more than 2,000 beds in detention centers for mothers and children seeking safety in America.
• Family detention can cost up to nearly $319.37 per person per day; successful and secure community-based alternatives to detention exist for a mere fraction of that amount.
• An estimated 90% of families in immigration detention seek protection from violence and persecution, which means they should be treated as refugees.
• Poor conditions and lack of adequate medical care continue to be pervasive problems.