Abuses
Advocates Seek Answers to Reports of Discriminatory Treatment of Black Immigrants in ICE Detention
The Council and Black Alliance for Just Immigration filed 10 FOIA requests to uncover what is happening inside immigration detention facilities and how ICE treats incarcerated Black immigrants in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Read More
Controversial Practice of Detaining and Interrogating Immigrant Advocates Included Legal Service Providers in El Paso
Newly revealed government documents provide details on the extent of the Trump administration’s retaliation against people who provided legal assistance to asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The documents link border interrogations of immigration legal service providers in El Paso in 2019 to similar treatment that journalists and immigrant… Read More
Firsthand Experiences Inside ICE Facilities During the Pandemic Underscore Why Immigration Detention Should be Abolished
This blog is the second in a three-part series examining President Biden’s first 100 days in office from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Many of us will always vividly remember the fear and lack of control that took hold as COVID-19 spread through our communities. While many people and communities took… Read More
Border Patrol’s New Coordinators Are Meant to Help Process Children, But Concerns Linger
A record number of migrant children are arriving to the U.S.-Mexico border alone. In March 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered nearly 19,000 unaccompanied minors—the most to ever arrive in a single month. But for the first time, Border Patrol processing coordinators—not law enforcement agents—will be stationed… Read More
Arizona ICE Detention Center Violated COVID-19 Safety Protocols by Refusing to Provide Masks or Enforce Social Distancing
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers—which often suffer from cramped conditions and poor access to medical care—are highly conducive to the spread of COVID-19. But ICE officials at one detention center in Arizona made the situation exponentially worse by failing to implement social distancing measures, provide face masks,… Read More
How Many ICE-Related COVID-19 Deaths Have Gone Unreported?
After almost two years in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Martin Vargas Arellano was released to a hospital on March 5. ICE did not notify his family or attorney. Three days later, he died alone from complications of COVID-19. His death leads to questions about how many… Read More
Making the Case for Ending Immigration Detention
Immigration detention was dangerous before President Trump took office four years ago. His policies—coupled with a deadly global pandemic—have only made the situation more dire. Immigration detention has expanded in the past decade, driven largely by large private prison companies such as CoreCivic and GEO Group. These companies’ sole motivation… Read More
‘We Had a Shortage Last Night of Beds for Babies.’ Congressional Report Reveals Cruelty, Chaos of Family Separation
Congress released the “first complete narrative” on the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on October 30. This hallmark of President Trump’s immigration legacy led to the forcible separation of thousands of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. The House Judiciary Committee report provides an in-depth… Read More
Lawsuit Demands Information on CBP’s Role in Racial Justice Protests
Civil and immigrants’ rights organizations filed a FOIA lawsuit today in the Eastern District of New York against CBP demanding information about the federal agency’s involvement in domestic policing at protests, demonstrations, and gatherings across the United States following the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minnesota. Read More
ICE’s COVID-19 Death Toll Might Be Higher Than It Claims
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to mismanage the spread of the coronavirus in its facilities nationwide—and the consequences might be far more deadly than the agency wants to admit. As of October 22, ICE confirmed a total of 6,743 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed across… Read More
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