Washington, DC — A new report, ICE Lies: Public Deception, Private Profit, released today by Detention Watch Network and the National Immigrant Justice Center, exposes Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) egregious patterns of fiscal irresponsibility, opacity in management, and disregard for congressional oversight in its detention system. Such irresponsible governance results in system-wide abuses and even deaths. The report comes a day after the Trump administration released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2019 requesting $2.8 billion to detain 52,000 immigrants each day. “For too…
Our latest press releases on important news and events relating to immigration detention in the United States. For media inquiries, contact media@detentionwatchnetwork.org.
Washington, DC — Today, the Trump administration released their proposed budget for fiscal year 2019. Trump is asking taxpayers to support massive cuts to social and environmental programs while allocating billions of dollars to put more people behind bars and ramp-up the deportation force that will rip people from their families and tear communities apart. “Trump’s proposal is a clear reflection of this administration’s anti-immigrant agenda guiding its every move,” said Mary Small, policy director at Detention Watch Network. “The out-of-control, reckless and dangerous nature of this proposal…
New York, NY — Immigrant rights leader Ravi Ragbir, together with the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, CASA de Maryland, Detention Watch Network, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the New York Immigration Coalition, filed suit ( Ragbir v. Homan) in federal district court in the Southern District of New York today to challenge the recent targeting of immigrant rights activists by federal immigration officials.Pending briefing and consideration of a preliminary injunction motion, the government has agreed to stay Mr. Ragbir’s deportation temporarily. Mr…
Atlanta, GA — Immigrant rights organizations, Georgia Detention Watch, Project South and Detention Watch Network demand an immediate investigation and public release of the findings into the death of Yulio Castro-Garrido. Castro-Garrido, 33, died on Tuesday while in the custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. "This is tragically the third death in Georgia immigration detention centers in less than a year,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, Legal & Advocacy Director of Project South. “As our year-long documentation showed…
Washington, DC — In response to Trump’s divisive State of the Union address, Detention Watch Network’s Organizing Director, Danny Cendejas issued the following statement: “Despite his claims, Trump’s mission is the antithesis of righteous. He used the address as yet another depraved call for the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda to come to fruition at the expense of immigrant lives and healthy communities nationwide. Trump exploited isolated tragedies to demonize immigrant communities — a signature move from the administration’s playbook to stereotype immigrants at large to justify…
A full recording of today’s call can be found here. Washington, DC — Faith leaders, advocates and undocumented individuals in Sanctuary held a press call today to unveil a first-of-its-kind report on the faith based Sanctuary movement and highlight the growth of the movement and how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are increasing retaliation tactics against immigrant rights organizers and humanitarian activists. Key highlights from the report include: Over 1,100 congregations are now part of the Sanctuary Movement. There are over 40 state Sanctuary coalitions representing 25 states…
Washington, DC — Today, Detention Watch Network, immigrant rights activists and allies joined together for a press conference and rally to condemn Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent targeting of leaders and activists of the immigrant rights movement. “ICE is an agency that regularly lies, actively hides information from the public and retaliates against anyone who speaks out,” said Danny Cendejas. “The ramp up of targeting immigrant rights activists to silence political opposition to ICE’s cruel and unjust practices is a clear example of the degradation of democratic values…
Washington, DC — A new report released today by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Concerns about ICE Detainee Treatment and Care at Detention Facilities, supports longstanding concerns and documentation from immigrant rights advocates about egregious conditions, abusive treatment and abysmal mismanagement at immigrant detention centers across the country. The report comes as Trump calls for a massive cut in the OIG budget in an attempt to further embolden Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to act with impunity, erase measures of accountability and obscure any existing transparency…
Denver, CO — Immigrant rights organizations, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Colorado, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) and Detention Watch Network (DWN) are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kamyar Samimi. Samimi, 64, died on Saturday while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Aurora Detention Center. This tragedy marks the first death to occur in ICE immigrant detention in fiscal year 2018. "RMIAN mourns the death of Mr. Samimi, whose preliminary cause of death is cardiac arrest, while detained at the for-profit civil…
In a dangerous abdication of its responsibility to good governance, the Senate appears poised to confirm Kirstjen Nielsen as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Ms. Nielsen, who has been a powerful right hand to White House Chief of Staff and former DHS Secretary John Kelly, bears direct responsibility for the abusive and harmful practices emanating from DHS under the Trump administration. Detention Watch Network, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and United We Dream strongly oppose Ms. Nielsen’s confirmation. The most recent entries in Ms. Nielsen’s resume include her…
WASHINGTON — Today, the Senate made public the details of the 2018 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill, including funding to expand President Trump’s persecution of immigrants. In response, Detention Watch Network Policy Director Mary Small issued the following statement: “The Senate’s budget bill is an outright attack on immigrants. The Senate seeks to increase funding for Trump’s runaway deportation machine — including bankrolling a wall designed to further divide communities and families. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border and Customs Protection (CBP)…
Click here to read the lawsuit Washington D.C. — Organizations around the country are highlighting local ICE enforcement tactics and filing a federal lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for refusing to release information regarding Operation Mega, the recent announcement of what was supposed to be the “largest raid in U.S. history.” The lawsuit is a response to the agency’s failure to disclose information requested by over 200 organizations and community leaders in early September via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The…
Advocates across the country are demanding ICE be held accountable for deaths in immigrant detention
Washington, DC — For the second year in a row, Detention Watch Network (DWN) and immigrant rights advocates nationwide are marking the Latin American holiday, Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, with national actions. DWN members will host at least 15 vigils and actions from DC to Los Angeles starting Saturday, October 28 and concluding on November 6. The mobilization is in response to the growing number of immigrant deaths in detention, as the Trump administration looks to massively increase an already bloated and unnecessary system plagued with egregiously poor conditions and a lack of…
Today, the Supreme Court denied a petition by private prison corporations seeking to block the release of government documents about their immigration detention practices. In a case brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Detention Watch Network (DWN), under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a federal district court ruled in July 2016, that the government must release details of its contracts with private prison corporations. The government chose not to appeal; instead, the country’s two largest private prison corporations, GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of…
Washington, DC — Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, Silky Shah responds to Trump’s ‘immigration principles’: “In yet another attack on immigrants, Trump’s nativist ‘immigration principles’ are dangerously draconian. If implemented they would jeopardize the lives of hundreds of thousands of families and further erode democratic values. We reject Trump's plan to use DACA recipients as bait to pull Congress into a negotiation built on a nativist and white supremacist agenda. Trump’s egregious ‘immigration principles’ calls for: The hiring of 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act , legislation to reform the systemic problems in our immigration detention system. Our current system is inhumane, unjust, and driven by private, for-profit corporations like The GEO Group, which operates the Northwest Detention Center located in Tacoma, Washington. This bill will end the use of private facilities and repeal mandatory detention, while restoring due process, oversight, accountability, and transparency to the immigration detention…
Washington, DC — Detention Watch Network denounces Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) operation ‘Safe City’ that targeted sanctuary cities with nationwide raids impacting nearly 500 individuals, their families and their communities. The following is a statement by Danny Cendejas, Organizing Director of Detention Watch Network: “On the heels of the public outrage over the leaked ‘Operation Mega,’ ICE used operation ‘Safe City’ to retaliate against immigrants and advocates, while also targeting jurisdictions that have taken steps toward protecting the rights and safety of all their…
Washington DC – Detention Watch Network (DWN), el Centro Nacional de Justicia de Inmigrantes (NIJC), el Centro Nacional de Derecho de Inmigración, United We Dream (UWD) y la Comisión de Refugiados de Mujeres (WRC) condenan el plan de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) que pretende llevar a acabo una operación nacional migratoria a mediados o fin de septiembre. Multiples fuentes dentro y cerca de ICE han compartido información sobre esta operación, que ICE está llamando "Operación Mega." Además de detener a individuos considerados como prioridad dentro de la orden ejecutiva presidencial del 25 de…
Washington, DC — Today Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The following is a statement by Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network: “Trump’s decision to end DACA is unconscionable. Trump has wielded countless attacks on immigrants, and today’s announcement is further proof that his white supremacist and nativist administration has no restraint when it comes to tearing apart families and upending lives. With the end of DACA, nearly 800,000 people, many of whom are immigrant youth, will become vulnerable to…
Washington, DC — With just two weeks left until members of Congress return to DC to vote on Trump’s funding proposal, last night’s campaign style rally in Arizona stoked the flames of upcoming funding negotiations. Trump threatened to shut down the government if he does not receive money for the border wall, demonstrating yet again the high stakes showdown slated to take place in September. The following is a statement by Mary Small, Policy Director for Detention Watch Network: “Members of Congress must hold strong. We must recognize this for what it is: an anti-immigrant budget steeped in a…
New York, NY — Immigrant rights organizations, Center for Constitutional Rights, Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP), Families for Freedom, Immigrant Defense Project (IDP), and Detention Watch Network (DWN) are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Carlos Mejia-Bonilla. Mejia-Bonilla, 44, died on Saturday while in the custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This tragedy marks the 10th death to occur in ICE detention since the start of the fiscal year. In the case of Mejia-Bonilla, ICE has yet to reveal the New York area detention center where he was held prior to his…
Adelanto, CA – It has now been 31 hours since nine individuals, known as the #Adelanto9, began a hunger strike at the Adelanto Detention Center in California yesterday morning. Within hours of refusing to eat food or drink water, the #Adelanto9 reported that they were drenched with pepper spray, beaten and transferred into a high security area by GEO Group (GEO) guards, the notorious private prison company that operates the facility. “The retaliation that the #Adelanto9 endured as a result of their hunger strike is a shameful attempt to suppress efforts to expose the shocking realities of…
Washington, DC — Immigrant rights organizations, Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC), Detention Watch Network (DWN), and the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Vicente Caceres-Maradiaga. Caceres-Maradiaga, 46, died last Wednesday while in the custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being detained at Adelanto Detention Center in California. This tragedy marks the third death to occur at Adelanto this year, after Sergio Alonso Lopez and Osmar Epifanio Gonzalez-Gadba. “Adelanto is now the…
Washington, DC — Yesterday, the Trump administration released their proposed budget for fiscal year 2018. Trump is asking taxpayers to support massive cuts to domestic programs while allocating billions of dollars to put more people behind bars and ramp-up the deportation force that will rip people from their families and tear communities apart. “Unsurprisingly, Trump’s proposed budget is a continuation of his anti-immigrant agenda,” said Silky Shah, co-director of Detention Watch Network. “The budget is an immoral roadmap that would dramatically expand the deportation force, surveillance…
Washington, DC — Immigrant rights organizations, Georgia Detention Watch and Detention Watch Network demand an immediate investigation into the death of Jean Jimenez-Joseph. Jimenez-Joseph, 27, died on Monday while in the custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being detained at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. ICE is reporting the death as a suicide, which provides a heartbreaking perspective into the state of mind of Jimenez-Joseph who had spent 19 days in solitary confinement prior to his passing. Georgia Detention Watch and Detention Watch Network would like to…