Sweet 16 and Never Been Detained — What It’s Like to Be a Teen Living in an Immigration Detention Center: The New Normal?
What does it say about American society when a popular teen magazine is running an article on teens in immigrant detention? Teen Vogue begins the story as follows: “Adriana had long looked forward to her 16th birthday — but when the date finally arrived, she celebrated not at home with her family and friends, but in a Texas center for immigrants that felt more like a prison.” The gist of story centers around immigrant detention:
“Adriana, Allison, and their mother were picked up by border patrol after entering Texas in August 2015. Shortly thereafter, they were sent to the South Texas Family Residential Center, a 2,400-bed center in the city of Dilley, a community that’s become an immigrant detention capital. The girls expected to be released after a short stay to join their father, who had left El Salvador several years prior and was living and working in Dallas. But while . . . the average detainee [allegedly] is held for only 20 days, their family is one of a number whose stays have stretched past the one-year mark.”
Ariana and Allison in happier times. The family was released from detention but the future is very uncertain.
KJ