A group of key organizations that ranged from Latinos, law-based and faith-based groups have written to President Obama stating that the coalition was requesting him to bring a close to immigrant-based family detention.

To quote the letter, which begins like this, “In light of recent developments and ongoing negotiations in litigation on the detention of immigrant families, we, the undersigned 188 immigrants’ rights, faith-based, civil rights, human rights, survivors’ rights, and criminal justice reform organizations, international educators, and legal service providers, urge your administration to end the practice of family detention”.

The family detention centers currently present in the country and which were built last year have been acknowledged by the organizations in the letter; the fact was also given due emphasis that though protection was being sought by these detained families in the US they were being made to go through “traumatic situations”, and this was largely applicable to the children, it was stated.

The letter also mentioned the effect on mental health that the detention was having on families, especially when the detention was for a long stretch of time. The letter appealed to the President to stop the family – based detention centers immediately to mitigate the problems arising out of such “inhuman” detention.