O'Malley: "We should not be in the business of building barbed wire (immigrant) detention camps"

[bigtree]

WASHINGTON -- Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley criticized the Obama administration -- albeit not by name -- on Friday for continuing to detain undocumented women and children.

"We should not be in the business of building barbed wire detention camps. Detentions are cruel, costly & against our values-esp for families," O'Malley, who is weighing a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, tweeted.

O'Malley also tweeted the link to a New York Times editorial published Friday calling for an end to the "immoral" practice of detaining families in deportation proceedings. "Let's lead with our principles & end them," he added in a second tweet.

The use of family detention for undocumented immigrants has come under heightened scrutiny this week, despite efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to mitigate critics' concerns. ICE announced Wednesday it will not use detention as a deterrent for more unauthorized immigration, that it will review all cases of families held for more than 90 days and that it will work with stakeholders to improve conditions, including access to counsel.

Critics of family detention, though, say that improving the detention facilities won't work -- they want them to be shut down altogether, or used in only extreme circumstances.

read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/15/martin-omalley-family-immigration_n_7294084.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016

related:

Martin O'Malley Stood Up for Immigrant Families in Maryland
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026628573

[yeoman6987]

1. I'm surprised so many still want to immigrate here

So many here say how horrible we treat the poor yet so many find us the best place to come to. Doesn't make sense. If we are so bad, why are so many finding that not true?

[malthaussen]

2. Well, for one thing, Central and South America are plagued with wars...

... many of the people who are crossing the border are simply trying to escape the violence. Which means, I suppose, that we can safely say it is better to live in the US than to be afraid you're going to be visited by death squads or rampaging drug wars. Not that we don't have some of those here, but to a much lesser extent than there. (wherever "there" may be)

-- Mal