Detention
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
The First 100 Days: Biden on Immigration Detention
This blog is the first in a three-part series from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Reflecting on his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Thomas,* a man who fled near-death in Cameroon, said: “I will always remember that day, it felt like Christmas day. I was overwhelmed… 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
What’s Not Being Said About the Border
The current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border—including the rise in immigrant children in U.S. government custody—has captured the nation’s attention in recent weeks. Much of the conversation has focused on a supposed “surge” in arrivals under the Biden administration, but the current increase began well before… Read More
ICE’s New Case Review Process Lets Immigrants Appeal Detention and Deportation
The Biden administration announced new “enforcement priorities” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 18. The priorities were an initial step away from the Trump administration’s enforcement strategy that made every undocumented immigrant a target for deportation. But issuing priorities is one thing; meaningful implementation… Read More
New Data Shows the Landscape of Community Support Services to Replace Immigration Detention
The U.S. government has long relied on a punitive and outdated detention system to keep immigrants in its custody. Even when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) places people on alternatives to detention, those alternatives are run by for-profit corporations and involve intrusive surveillance through devices like ankle monitors. Read More
ICE’s Changes to Family Detention Are an Improvement but Don’t Go Far Enough
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it would make changes to two family detention centers in Texas that would result in families spending less time in detention. The agency states that the facilities will be turned into “reception centers,” where families receive COVID-19 tests, arrange… Read More
Trump Administration Wants to Deny Work Permits to Some People Released From ICE Detention
The Trump administration announced on November 17 that it plans to start denying work permits to people who have been ordered deported, but who have been released from immigration custody because they cannot—or should not—be deported. A stated purpose of this new rule, published by the Department of Homeland… 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
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