PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Immigration activists are cheering the early closure of the controversial Berks County Residential Center, which was being used to house female immigrants.
The Leesport facility’s contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expires at the end of January. According to the Shut Down Berks Coalition, all of the women who were being housed inside were released last week.
“Now that all of the women are out, no one’s been transferred. Everyone is out of that prison,” said coalition coordinator Jasmine Rivera. “It’s like a weight off all of our chests.”
The women have been released to families or sponsors all across the country, lawyers told the coalition.
The coalition has been fighting for the closure of the detention center since 2015.
“We’ve just been in go, go, go mode for so long,” said Rivera. “And now that the women are out, it’s finally sinking in that we did it. It’s finally sinking in that it happened.”
ICE announced the closure in early December 2022, noting the decision to let the contract expire reflected the agency’s current operational requirement.
The future of the building isn’t clear, though some local residents are pushing for it to provide health and human services.
“This is why we do this work. Because we believe that our people need to be free,” Rivera added. “They deserve to be free.”
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