“The last detainee held at the Berks County immigrant detention center is expected to be released at 3pm today,” Jeff Gammage, immigration reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer, tweeted on Jan. 10. Legal advocacy group Aldea—the People’s Justice Center confirmed that its client, the final remaining person still at Berks, would be walking free.
“We are thankful to everyone who has been part of this universal representation project over the years—to all the clinics and their professors, to all the volunteers, [on the ground] warriors and remote warriors, law firms, our dedicated members of Congress to our partner organizations, to everyone who fought alongside our clients to uphold their rights, tell their stories, win their cases, and get free,” the organization continued in the thread.
“And more than anything, we are grateful to our thousands of clients, the true heroes of this long story. Thank you for never giving up, for your fight, for inspiring us and trusting us.”
“The woman, who is seeking asylum, will go to live with family in the Northeast U.S. while her case proceeds through federal Immigration Court,” Gammage noted. Advocates had been calling for the release of all remaining women at Berks, since ICE often just transfers detained people elsewhere in instances where detention centers have closed. It’s unclear if the women who remained at the center prior to this latest development were also released, or if they were also just sent to another abusive facility. Berks’ closure as an immigration detention facility is nevertheless a major victory for the movement. WESA reported last month that there’s been a push to turn Berks into a building that can aid people rather than hurt them, by providing “human services.”
“There’s lots of ideas, there’s lots of need, and ultimately it should be the Berks County people, the residents of Berks County, who have a say in what that facility is used for, because they know what’s best for their own communities,” Shut Down Berks Coalition member Jasmine Rivera said in that report.
Aldea said in its thread that it had been aiding vulnerable people detained at Berks for nearly a decade. “Please know that our Aldea lives beyond the Berks facility and we look forward to continuing their fight in our community and throughout Pennsylvania and beyond,” the organization continued. The group said its mission has been to let migrants know that they “are welcome here, you will find support here, you are part of us—our village.”
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