The Episcopal Church has long advocated for humane alternatives to detention, acknowledging that the United States’ current system of immigration detention – with its profit motive for private prison corporations, lack of oversight, and documented abuses – is, by its nature, inhumane and unnecessary. The federal government has been sued for its arbitrary detention of asylum seekers.

Humane alternatives that allow families to stay together in home-like settings, including such programs as the now-defunct Family Case Management Program (FCMP), are not only possible and far less costly than detention ($36 per day compared to $319 per day to detain a family); they have a successful and proven track record. The FCMP had near 100% compliance rates with ICE check-ins and court hearings during the two years it existed, prior to being cancelled by the Trump administration in 2017.