KATHMANDU: As many as 123 immigrants seeking asylum have been detained and transferred to Sheridan federal prison in Yamhill County of Oregon, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) reported.

Majority of the detainees are reported to be South Asian people, who speak Hindi and Punjabi, and a few of them speak Chinese. Of the asylum seekers, 13 of the detainees are from Nepal, while others from Sikh or Christian communities were reported to be fleeing religious persecution.

Moreover, the detainees have been isolated, have limited access to interpretation, and are at risk of abuse in their current prison housing arrangement.

APANO has further reported that President Donald Trump’s new “zero-tolerance” policy that prosecutes and separates families of anyone unauthorised to enter the country, including people leaving their native country as a political refugee to seek asylum protection as cruel and inhumane. The damage caused by this policy – children in makeshift shelters, overflowing detention centres, and human rights violations – represent a humanitarian crisis that has now hit Oregonians in our backyard.

Commissioner-Elect for Multnomah County, Susheela Jayapal was quoted as saying, “2,000 kids have been separated from their families, some for two months. This is the definition of cruel and unusual.” She added, “This policy of family separation needs to end now; and in the meantime, all detainees deserve legal representation and fair treatment, starting with transparency about their children’s whereabouts and humane detention conditions.”

Meanwhile, a rapid legal response effort led by Innovation Law Lab and the Oregon chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association is underway.

APANO is also connecting with local South Asian communities and "One Oregon Coalition" to raise further awareness and support for the detainees. APANO in support from community partners has decided to demand an end to immigration policy that separates families, while supporting detainees, their full rights, transparency on their children’s location, and plans for reunification, in Sheridan tonight.

APANO has urged its members to join its campaign today for a World Refugee Day Vigil in Portland. It has called on its members to be in solidarity with the refugees, asylees, DACA and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) communities, supporters, and allies to stand with immigrants and demand justice for separated families.

APANO's action plan

• Show up: Members urged to join for a Mourn, Pray and Take Action Vigil at Terry Shrunk Plaza by Portland City Hall on World Refugee Day today between 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
• Donate: Innovation Law Lab raising money for coordination of a massive legal response effort to get Know the rights information and access to attorneys to all the detainees.
• Seeking volunteers: A variety of volunteers are needed to support the legal response effort including legal and mental health professionals and interpreters for multiple languages.
• Sign and share: Spreading the One Oregon petition to #EndFamilySeparation via social media.

Likewise, the Associated Press has reported that Trump administration officials have been sending babies and other young children forcibly separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border to at least three “tender age” shelters in South Texas.

Trump administration’s “no tolerance” policy, is leading to a spike in children being separated from their families. Government statistics indicate that nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May.

On June 7, more than 1,600 people arrested at the US-Mexico border, including parents who have been separated from their children, were transferred to federal prisons, US immigration authorities confirmed.

However, President Trump on June 15 said, “I hate the children being taken away,” but he also falsely blamed Democrats for a law requiring it.