Knowledge Base

Family detention report

Since 2011, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in the arrival of Latina immigrant women and their children, primarily from countries in the northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). During the last two years, the U.S. government apprehended more than 150,000 immigrant family units, primarily Central American women traveling with their children (U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, 2017). Evidence suggests that Central American womenā€™s motivations to migrate and experiences during migration are often tied to violence (Cook Heffron, 2015; UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2015), and yet their experiences after arriving in the U.S. do not always support their rights, recovery, safety, or healing. In fact, Central American women and children apprehended and detained in detention centers in the United States are often fleeing from domestic violence, sexual violence, and the highest rates of femicide in the world.

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