Biden Calls for Closing Detention Centers for Undocumented Immigrants, Offering 'Earned Citizenship'

Former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate, called for the closure of detention centers for undocumented immigrants.

“Close them down,” Biden said while campaigning in Rock Hill, S.C., on Thursday. “We don’t need them.”

Biden said that the Obama administration found that immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally show up for their court hearings and do not have to be kept in detention centers.

“There should be no justification for separating a parent from a child,” Biden said.

A recent study found that 43 percent of undocumented immigrants skip their hearings after they are released from U.S. custody.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a Democratic presidential candidate, also supports closing detention centers that house immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally.

Biden also said he supports granting legal status to DREAMers and offering “earned citizenship for the 11 million” undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.