BERN — For nearly a decade, groups of protesters would gather to chant and sing songs in front of the Berks County Residential Center, urging the release of the mothers and children seeking asylum.
The campaign to shut down the small immigration detention facility in Bern Township began in 2014 after reports that a guard had regularly sexually assaulted a 19-year-old Honduran mother. And it ceased in 2023, when the center closed after ICE ended its contract with the county.
What happened in between was a concerted pressure campaign on the federal and state government spearheaded by Shut Down Berks, a coalition of immigrant leaders, attorneys, members of the faith community, and more…