2001

The Berks County Family Residential Center was established. Only used to hold families during the credible fear interview process. The families usually left in under a week.

2014

The Berks County Family Residential Center began being used for indefinite detention of immigrant families. 

2015

JANUARY: Berks prison guard was arrested for raping a mother in the detention center. The Shut Down Berks (SDB) Coalition held their first protest at Berks.

APRIL: A group of detained mothers created a public letter asking to be released and outlining their treatment in the prison.

MAY: ICE announces "enhanced oversight" of family detention centers.

JUNE: The detained mothers launch a work strike.

JULY:  Lawyer David Bennion sends letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) requesting closure of Berks in compliance with Flores decision. All strikers in the prison are released. The Shut Down Berks Coalition organizes a large action and concert at Berks.

AUGUST: Human Rights First releases report on Berks.

SEPTEMBER: The SDB Coalition organized a press conference at PA DHS office calling on Secretary Ted Dallas to revoke Berks license.

OCTOBER: PA DHS announces it will not renew the license of the Berks family prison.

NOVEMBER: ACLU files Habeas petitions for families at Berks.

DECEMBER: Detained mother submits complaint to Berks/ICE about her child vomiting and having diarrhea.

2016

JANUARY: The PA DHS issues an official license revocation letter.

FEBRUARY: Berks County appeals the license revocation. The Berks License expires.

MARCH: A shigellosis outbreak happens at the Berks family prison. The SDB Coalition leads a press conference and advocacy on the health crisis at Berks.

APRIL:  As part of the Pennsylvania Immigration Citizenship Coalition (PICC) Advocacy Day, the SDB Coalition met with Ted Dallas, Secretary of the PA DHS. The SDB Coalition delivered a letter demanding the Emergency Removal Order. Senator Bernie Sanders calls for closure of Berks at a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Berks prison guard was given jail time for sexual assault of the mother at Berks. The guard’s sentence was lesser than the time the mother and her child were detained at the family prison.

MAY: ICE grants PA DHS permission to do off site interviews with families & their attorneys PA DHS conducts off site interviews with families and does not tell their attorneys.

JUNE: The Social Visit program begins.

JULY:  The 9th Circuit holds that the Flores Act applies to both unaccompanied minors and families with children. The SDB Coalition organizes a large march at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA. 

AUGUST: A group of detained mothers at Berks launch a hunger strike and issue a public letter. The SDB Coalition launches a national call to action to support the hunger strike. Senator Casey sends a letter to DHS about Berks.

SEPTEMBER: The interfaith monthly vigils at Berks begin. 

DECEMBER: The SDB Coalition organizes a protest at the state capitol. Some protesters are arrested at the action. The Berks Mothers share their Christmas Wish to the press, “Their Families’ Freedom”.

2017

JANUARY: The SDB Coalition organizes the first direct action at Governor Tom Wolf’s house.

APRIL: The Berks family prison wins administrative licensing appeal. 

MAY: Pennsylvania Doubles Down on Revoking Child-Care License for Controversial Family Detention Center. 

AUGUST: Six mothers and their children were released from the Center. 

OCTOBER: “Flores de Libertad” was an installation of 1,600 paper flowers created by mothers detained at Berks and volunteers led by artist Michelle Angela Ortiz. The flowers carried messages of freedom and the continued fight against family detention. The artwork was installed at City Hall followed by a press conference by the SDB Coalition. 

2018

MAY: The SDB Coalition calls for an end of family separation, detention and deportations. 

JULY: The SDB Coalition organizes an action blocking the entrance to the Berks Family Detention Center. A civil disobedience occurs and 17 protestors are arrested.

AUGUST: The SDB Coalition organizes a mass action in state capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

OCTOBER: Two civil disobedience actions occur in Governor Tom Wolf's Philadelphia and Harrisburg offices

NOVEMBER: A statewide action attended by over 200 people was held in Harrisburg as part of the unveiling of the “Familias Separadas” public art installations highlighting the stories of the mothers at Berks.

2019

JANUARY: After a poll of Berks county residents showing that residents would prefer a facility that addresses the growing opioid crisis over a detention center, the Shut Down Berks coalition begins asking state and county officials to explore transitioning the detention center.

APRIL: The “Las Madres de Berks” Documentary premieres in Reading, PA. 

JULY: The Shut Down Berks coalition organizes actions during Netroots Conference in Philadelphia, Pa. Democratic Congresswomen Madeleine Dean and Mary Gay Scanlon make a surprise visit to the Berks family prison.In lawsuit against Berks, the court rules immigrants have right to be free from sexual assault. 

OCTOBER: Governor Tom Wolf and a Berks County Commissioner begin conversations about how to transition the detention center into a facility focused on drug treatment.

DECEMBER:  The Auditor General of Pennsylvania Eugene DePasquale makes a public statement for the closure of the Berks immigrant family detention center.

2020

MARCH: The Coalition creates a petition to release the families at Berks due to the Coronavirus risks that they face inside. 

APRIL: The SDB Coalition organizes a caravan honk protest at Governor Wolf's house.

MAY: Detained families sue Pennsylvania DHS in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for failing to protect them during the COVID-19 health crisis. Detained families were offered a choice by ICE, either be separated from their children or be held together indefinitely amid the pandemic.

2022

JANUARY: Since January 2022, ICE and the Biden administration stopped detaining children but continued to incarcerate immigrant women as young as 18 years old at Berks.

2023

JANUARY: After eight years of organizing efforts, the Berks family prison has finally shut down permanently as of January 31, 2023.