The federal government will end its contract with a controversial center in Berks County used to detain migrants seeking asylum, which has been accused in the past of being a “prison for children.”
The government’s contract with the 96-bed Berks County Residential Center in Leesport, about an hour outside Philadelphia, will end, effective Jan. 31 of next year, a county spokesperson announced Wednesday.
The center was once used to house families seeking asylum from violence, sexual abuse and even death in their home countries. But once inside Berks, many of the detainees simply waited indefinitely. In 2017, lawyers working with families at the BCRC told NBC10 that some of the youngest detainees spent half their lives in detention.
Last year, President Joe Biden’s administration announced that the center would no longer hold families. Instead, it would be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold adults.
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Advocates celebrated the news of the government ending its contract with the center.
“We are beyond thrilled to hear this news and look forward to seeing everyone released to their families and communities. We will also remain vigilant that this site will never again be used to inflict more violence against immigrants or incarcerate more people as it transitions to a new purpose,” the Shut Down Berks Coalition wrote in a press release.
The county spokesperson said officials are committed to supporting the center’s employees and staff “during this transition.”
