Padilla Urges President Trump to Abandon Use of Family Detention
Senators to Trump: “There is simply no basis for reinstating this cruel, ineffective, and costly practice, particularly when there are effective solutions that, unlike family detention, do not permanently damage children’s health and well-being”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, joined a group of 21 other Senate Democrats in condemning President Donald Trump’s revival of family detention policies and urging him to reject the harmful practice.
The Senators strongly objected to the Trump Administration’s reinstatement of these policies, citing multiple studies published on family detention’s harm to children. Family detention, even in the short term, risks serious harm to the physical and mental well-being of children, violating basic child welfare standards and leading to lasting trauma. Medical and child welfare experts, including Department of Homeland Security’s own medical consultants, have found that family detention creates a “high risk of harm to children and families.”
“We strongly object to the failed and inhumane practice of detaining migrant families. We are deeply disturbed by reports that your Administration intends to revive this cruel policy, which has proven to be ineffective, costly, and devastating for children and families,” wrote the Senators.
The Senators also cited multiple studies finding family detention to be costly and ineffective, and demanded the Trump Administration abandon plans to reinstate family detention.
“Family detention is not just damaging to children and families; it is also costly and ineffective,” continued the Senators. “It does not deter migration. It simply inflicts suffering while draining taxpayer funds at an exorbitant cost.”
“There is simply no basis for reinstating this cruel, ineffective, and costly practice, particularly when there are effective solutions that, unlike family detention, do not permanently damage children’s health and well-being. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to abandon the use of family detention and instead pursue humane, evidence-based alternatives that prioritize the well-being of children and families while ensuring an orderly and lawful immigration system,” concluded the Senators.
Padilla signed the letter, led by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, alongside Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Senator Padilla is a leading voice in Congress opposing President Trump’s anti-immigrant actions and rhetoric. Earlier this week, Senators Padilla, Durbin, Booker, and Welch issued a joint statement slamming President Trump for his attempted invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, wartime law, to deport noncitizens without due process. Last week, Padilla joined other Democratic immigration leaders in challenging the constitutional basis of President Trump’s sham “invasion” proclamation, which the President believes would allow his Administration to circumvent federal immigration law and due process.
Padilla sharply criticized Trump’s harmful executive orders targeting immigrants at the start of his second Administration. Last month, Padilla denounced Trump’s transfer of immigrants from the United States to Guantánamo Bay as unlawful and demanded answers regarding these transfers. He also condemned the Trump Administration’s intended use of Bureau of Prisons facilities to detain immigrants as part of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Additionally, Padilla cosponsored the Born in the USA Act to effectively block the implementation of Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order attempting to end birthright citizenship for certain children born in the United States, or a similar subsequent Executive Order. Padilla also recently blasted the Trump Administration’s stop work order to organizations that provide legal services for unaccompanied children and demanded they protect Congressionally mandated legal representation for these children in the immigration system. Last year, Padilla emphasized the dangers and immense economic costs of the Trump Administration’s mass deportation plans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Full text of the letter to President Trump is available here and below:
Dear President Trump:
We strongly object to the failed and inhumane practice of detaining migrant families. We are deeply disturbed by reports that your Administration has revived this cruel policy, which has proven to be ineffective, costly, and devastating for children and families.
There is a widespread consensus in the United States that family detention poses serious risks to the physical and mental well-being of children. Medical and child welfare experts—including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association—have consistently condemned this practice, warning that even short-term detention fails to meet basic child welfare standards and exposes children to lasting trauma. Even the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) own medical consultants have concluded that family detention presents a “high risk of harm to children and families.” The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers also determined that family detention should be discontinued.
Family detention is not just damaging to children and families; it is also costly and ineffective. It does not deter migration. It simply inflicts suffering while draining taxpayer funds at an exorbitant cost. DHS previously spent more than $866 million over a three-year period to maintain space to detain just over 2,500 families. Detaining a mother and her children in an ICE facility costs an astonishing $319 per day. In contrast, Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs —such as community-based case management—cost as little as $5 per person per day and have ensured high compliance rates with immigration proceedings.
There is simply no basis for reinstating this cruel, ineffective, and costly practice, particularly when there are effective solutions that, unlike family detention, do not permanently damage children’s health and well-being. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to abandon the use of family detention and instead pursue humane, evidence-based alternatives that prioritize the well-being of children and families while ensuring an orderly and lawful immigration system.
Sincerely,
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