Why we do it

The U.S. currently operates the largest immigrant detention system in the world. Immigrants are incarcerated in facilities with egregious and neglectful living conditions, which amount to imprisonment for the simple act of crossing a border without papers. The detention centers are often geographically isolated, compounding the isolation of the people held there. The situation has been exacerbated in recent years due to COVID-19 pandemic and the punitive policies advanced by the former administration, making immigration detention an urgent human rights issue.

Immigrant detention isn’t an issue confined to one geographical area. County jails, prisons, and processing centers in the Northeast incarcerate hundreds of immigrants every day. The Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York is the largest detention center in the state, maintaining a daily minimum of 400 detained immigrants. Our work revolves around this facility through collaboration with Buffalo-based Justice for Migrant Families of Western New York, a group that provides direct support for detained people, including visitation, connection to legal aid, reporting abuses, and other forms of advocacy.

For more, visit the Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program page on our organization.