By Andrea L. Alford, Media Strategist, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

When we arrived at the U.S. border, I felt relieved because I thought we were finally safe. But immigration officials took my daughter and me to a place out in the middle of nothing in Artesia, New Mexico, where we were housed in trailers surrounded by barbed wire fences and cut off from the rest of the world. I only wanted to keep my daughter safe, that's why I came to the United States. But I couldn't keep her safe, not when we were locked away for months on end in a place that is bad for children. I understand that immigration officials need to have a system for keeping track of asylum seekers like my daughter and me while we wait for our legal hearings, but I don't think putting us in jail is the right way to do it. Why are we punishing children who have done nothing wrong? The only thing we have done is seek a safer, happier place for our children. Wouldn't any mother do that for her children? -- Former Detainee in Artesia