ICYMI: Care Workers, Advocates, Authors, and Families Gather in Washington, D.C. to Demand Congress End Family and Child Detention

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Media Contact: Daniela Perez, [email protected] 

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): 

Care Workers, Advocates, Authors, and Families Gather in Washington, D.C. to Demand Congress End Family and Child Detention

Pictures: Stacey Abrams, Ai-jen Poo, and The Free Families Coalition Hold Vigil Against Child And Family Detention (Getty)

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, May 20, the Read Them Home initiative, led by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the 10 Steps Campaign, joined the Free Families: National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention for a Day of Action in Washington, D.C., calling on Congress to end family and child detention once and for all. 

Later in the day, advocates, caregivers, authors, educators, faith leaders, and members of Congress gathered on the Capitol grounds for a rally and public story hour, alongside an installation of 620 teddy bears and paper dolls — one for every ten children detained by ICE. The installation honored children impacted by ICE arrests and family detention and served as a visible reminder of the human cost of immigration enforcement policies that separate families and detain children.

“Today, millions of children in America woke up warm in their beds, to get ready for another day of school or simply surrounded by people who love them. Today, thousands of children who should have that experience won’t because they have been disappeared from childhood by ICE,” Ai-jen Poo, President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said. “We are bringing our simple demand directly to leaders in Congress: free our families – once and for all.”

“Every child deserves a childhood marked by joy, safety, and love — not a detention cell. We are not here to ask for better food or bigger rooms. We are demanding that these families be released and that family detention be ended,” Stacey Abrams, Lead Organizer for the 10 Steps Campaign, said. “Every single day, our leaders are making a choice to keep children locked up. We are here to tell them: that choice is unacceptable.”

The Day of Action featured remarks and participation from Representatives Adelita Grijalva, Al Green, Ayanna Pressley,  Delia Ramirez and Pramila Jayapal; Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Stacey Abrams, former Georgia House minority leader and lead organizer of the 10 Steps Campaign; Pastor Dianne Garcia; Julissa Arce, author and co-founder of Ascend Educational Fund; Mychal “The Librarian” Threets, PBS’s resident librarian and Reading Rainbow host; advocates; children’s book authors; childcare workers; and representatives from the Free Families: National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention. The coalition also had support from other authors and advocates, including Ms. Rachel. 

“ICE has sent thousands of children, including babies and toddlers, to suffer for weeks, sometimes months at a time…. Hundreds of children are there right now at Dilley. As a pastor, I have seen the impact of family detention on a 3-year-old who used to run across the altar at my church during services, laughing, and who now refuses to leave his mother’s side. He spent 65 days in detention,” Pastor Dianne Garcia, member of the Free Families: National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention, said. “We must start building a better future today by calling on members of Congress to shut down Dilley and end family detention by prohibiting the use of federal funds to detain families and children.”

The action builds on Read Them Home events earlier this spring in Dilley, Texas, where advocates, caregivers, educators, and authors gathered to read bedtime stories in solidarity with detained children and families.

Since the start of the Trump administration, more than 6,200 children have been detained by ICE at traffic stops, home raids, routine check-in appointments, bus stops, hospitals and airports. Estimates show ICE has also detained parents of at least 207,000 children, including more than 145,000 U.S. citizen children, under the current administration. Families held in detention centers have reported being served food with worms and mold, placed in overcrowded bunks, and facing medical neglect and serious psychological harm.

Many detained families lived in U.S. communities for years before being taken into custody. Families have been detained again and again despite active asylum cases, humanitarian parole, and U.S. citizen sponsors. Through actions in Washington, D.C. and communities across the country, the coalition is demanding that Congress end family and child detention once and for all.

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National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the leading voice for dignity and fairness for millions of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. NDWA is powered by over 70 affiliate organizations and local chapters and by a growing membership base of nannies, house cleaners and care workers in over 20 states. Learn more at www.domesticworkers.org. NDWA is a non-partisan non-profit organization that does not endorse, support, or oppose any candidates for public office.