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The Sisters of Charity of New York affirm the dignity of all persons. As a congregation of women religious dedicated to serving the most vulnerable in our society, we stand with the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference in deploring the conditions imposed on those held in detention centers at our border and elsewhere.

We particularly object to the undue detention of children, the inhumane separation from their families, and the unhealthy conditions in which they are held. We advocate for the just and compassionate treatment children deserve, including good nutrition and medical care, clean clothing and suitable housing, and assistance from social agencies and attorneys so that they may be promptly reunited with their families.

We call upon our government to live up to our country’s foundational values and provide for the necessities of all detainees.  We expect better supervision of those running the detention centers and increased efforts to contact family members and to release detainees into family care.

As Americans who believe we are sisters and brothers to each other, we urge our leaders to change this situation immediately and we commit ourselves to collaborate with others to search for long-range solutions to this humanitarian crisis.