Hawzah News Agency - (Illinois - US) - An Islamic non-profit initiative in the United States (US) has raised US$13,000 to bail out detained migrants, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting an American news outlet.
The Muslims for Migrants campaign launched on Monday by CelebrateMercy has already exceeded its original goal of raising US$10,000 in two weeks, reported Religion News Service on Thursday.
"Looking at a project like this, I can’t think of something that is more useful to do with your money (than) to help detained families," said Ryan Smith, a case manager with Chicago’s Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants.
"It’s something that’s underfunded, and for the families I work with it’s often eight months to a year before they’re released," Smith added.
More than 50,000 people are currently detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, while some 20,000 are in Customs and Border Protection centres, the report said. Another 11,000 children are currently in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The detained immigrants undocumented or legal asylumseekers are held in detention facilities until they go to trial, where the court will decide whether they can stay in the country, or until they can pay their bond.