Laura Benshoff / WHYY
The federal government has proposed more bed space in the Berks Family Residential Center a detail missing from one commissioner’s public statement last week about the center’s future.
Berks County Commissioner Chair Christian Leinbach said the proposal’s “bottom line” was the county’s willingness to continue detaining families or just women migrants. But he didn’t mention the proposal for more beds, and the possibility of more detainees.
ICE’s proposal is titled “White Paper Proposal for Additional Bed Space at the BCRC.” The 96-bed facility is also known as the Berks County Residential Center, or the BCRC.
The Berks County Residential Center is currently empty and activists want to hold off plans to house adults there. County commissioners praise workers at the facility for good care for
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Anthony Orozco / WITF
Seven families 25 people in all who had been held by immigration authorities at the Berks County Residential Center have been released to live with sponsors across the nation.
Their removal from detention does not mean they are granted asylum. They will continue their immigration cases while living with relatives and others willing to house them rather than in federal custody.
“So this is a great move; it’s not the end of the road,” said Amy Maldonado, a lawyer working pro bono with the Reading-based nonprofit ALDEA the People’s Justice Center. “We don’t know what’s happening yet but we’re very happy to see the Biden administration stop jailing children unnecessarily.”
Immigrant families at Berks Detention Center released whyy.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from whyy.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.