The U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, one of three federal immigration agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), released approximately 200 immigrant detainees from its family detention centers, and lawmakers and civil rights advocates have commended the decision.

ICE reportedly released 200 Central Americans, mostly immigrant women and children, from the agency's detention centers. The move was commended by congressional lawmakers who have called for closure of the detention center. Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Zoe Lofgren of California, in a joint statement, said ICE's move is a "very important step in the right direction," but there are still unresolved issues.

"ICE recently announced that it was releasing families from detention on bond, ankle bracelets, or orders of supervision if they have passed credible and reasonable fear interviews. ... However, we remain strongly convinced that no family -- regardless of status -- should be housed in jail-like facilities for any length of time," the joint statement read.

"We greatly appreciate the steps DHS is taking to limit detention for families, but we believe that family detention in its current form must end completely and unequivocally."

The three Democrats are among the 136 House Democrats who have written to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson for reforms and the detention centers' closing. In June, eight Democrats went to Texas to visit the Karnes County Residential Center and South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley to meet with detained families. Following the trip, Roybal-Allard said immigrant detention is a humanitarian issue, while Gutierrez called the facilities "prison camps."

Silky Shah, co-director of the Detention Watch Network, a national coalition of groups and individuals opposing U.S. immigrant detention, said the Obama administration is responding to the increasing pressure to limit the lengthy detention of mothers and children.

"The detention system is rife with human rights abuses, appalling medical care lapses, and glaring due process violations. By the government's own measure, the vast majority of detained women and children should be treated as refugees and immediately released," Shah said in a statement.

According to Shah, ICE's latest move is simply replacing "one blanket decision with another," and the agency should focus on community support programs that would not traumatize families.

"The Obama administration's family detention policy has been an embarrassing stain on America's human rights record," Shah said. "(ICE's) announcement signals a move away from mere rhetoric and toward actual release for some detained mothers and children, but even if implemented fully, fails to truly address the problem this administration created for itself last year. It is time to close all family detention centers and end this painful chapter once and for all."

The Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) also said ICE's decision is a positive step but more needs to be done. FIRM spokesperson Kica Matos said there are many families held in detention facilities and no family should be detained in the centers' conditions.

"This unjust practice has traumatic effects on these families -- including their children -- and needs to end altogether," Matos said in a statement. "It shocks the conscience and goes against our nation's values."

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), one of the largest and oldest Latino-based organizations in the country, also expressed mixed emotions to ICE's decision.

"The agency's decision to reconsider its policy to detain families who are seeking to establish eligibility for asylum is a positive step forward. ... LULAC remains concerned by the substandard holding facilities used by ICE for detainees, including mothers and children, whose only crime is to seek a better life," said LULAC President Roger Rocha, noting the Eloy Detention Center -- outside of Tucson, Arizona -- has reported 14 detainee deaths since 2003.

Must Read: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson Announces 'Substantial Changes' in Immigration Detention Policy 

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