Pressroom

Washington, DC — In response to internal emails by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Houston Field Office stating to 'release them all' per Biden’s deportations moratorium memo, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following comment: “If anything this shows that ICE & DHS actually have broad authority to release people back to their loved ones, community and support networks. Immigration detention has always been an arbitrary, inhumane and unjust system. Simply put, people navigating their immigration case should be able to do so with their families…

Washington, DC — In response to President Biden’s memorandum directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a review of policies and practices concerning immigration enforcement which includes interim enforcement priorities and a 100-day moratorium on deportations, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following statement: “It’s important that we applaud this moment. The relentless advocacy of the immigrant justice movement made deportations pause for 100 days as people across the country have been organizing, speaking out and uniting to protect…

Washington, DC — In response to President Biden’s day one agenda on immigration, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following statement: “Biden’s day one bill and executive orders on immigration policy are a welcome departure from the racism and xenophobia of the Trump era. For years, people across the country have been demanding transformative change to protect immigrant family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors, and today the Biden administration took a significant first step to fundamentally transform the government’s approach to immigration. Today…

Washington, DC — In response to the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following statement: “After four years of an administration that promoted white supremacy, xenophobia, hate and most recently incited an attempted coup at the Capitol, we welcome the opportunity for a more just society under a Biden administration. It is paramount that the Biden administration take swift and decisive executive action to address the harms caused by the Trump administration and to begin to undo the…

Washington, DC — Right now there are 15,415 people in immigration detention — the lowest number since 1999 when there were 17,772 people. However, this number does not reflect immigrant rights advocates’ resolute demands to free all people from detention, nor public outcry over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s unjust and fundamentally flawed system. Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network issued the following statement outlining the state of immigration detention and demanding President-elect Joe Biden continue to reduce the number of people in immigration…

Washington, DC — Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) failed pandemic response substantially increased the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to “ Hotbeds of Infection,” a new report released today by Detention Watch Network. Between May and August of 2020, ICE detention facilities were responsible not only for thousands of COVID cases in detention centers, but contributed to more than 245,000 additional COVID-19 cases in communities throughout the country. Key findings of the report include: Counties with ICE detention centers were more likely to report COVID-19 cases…

Washington, DC — In response to the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under the Biden administration, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following statement: “As President-elect Biden begins to name his cabinet, including the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Detention Watch Network reiterates our vision of a world without immigration detention, where every person has the right to move and live freely without fear of being separated from their loved…

Washington, DC — In response to Vice President Joe Biden being declared the 46th president of the United States, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement: “After four years of an administration that promoted white supremacy, xenophobia, and hate, this country has officially rejected Donald Trump. Today, we celebrate the repudiation of this disastrous presidency— tomorrow, we awaken to demand a more just society under a new administration of President-Elect Joe Biden. “In this time of transition, it’s not enough to simply aim for an end to all of…

Washington, DC — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has doubled-down on its efforts to lock-in contracts for the immigration detention system for years to come by posting four new Requests for Information (RFI) proposals for immigration jails. The RFI’s were posted for the following Areas of Responsibility (AORs) or regions: Denver, CO: A facility with the capacity of 1360 beds, likely for the Aurora Contract Detention Facility, operated by the GEO Group. New York, NY: A facility with the capacity of 900 beds. Newark, NJ: A facility with the capacity of 900 beds. Miami, FL: A facility…

Washington, DC— As Americans await the election results, the Defund Hate campaign issued the following statement: “In January, the next president of the United States and members of the 117th Congress will assume responsibility for the health and wellbeing of U.S. communities and families still fighting for survival in a global pandemic. This includes immigrants who are detained or who are at risk of having their families and communities torn apart by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Regardless of the outcome of the election, the Defund Hate…

Beginning Wednesday, October 21st, in an action dubbed “Fall Freedom Day,” immigrant rights organizations in coordination with the National Bail Fund Network and Detention Watch Network, will begin the process of posting $3 million in immigration bonds to free hundreds of individuals held in immigration detention across the country. The collective action builds off of years of organizing by groups across the country and a similar action in 2019 that freed over 200 people. “At a time when the Trump Administration has made the destruction of immigrant communities a top political priority by…

Washington, DC — On the last day of Fiscal Year 2020, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement in response to the 21 deaths that have occured in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody throughout the year: “The tragic death toll for FY 2020 is the highest since FY 2005. People are losing their loved ones to an immigration detention system that simply does not need to exist. A wide array of sources — including whistleblower Dawn Wooten at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia and the Department of Homeland Security’s own Office…

Lumpkin, Georgia — Today the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the death of Cipriano Chavez-Alvarez, 61, who died from COVID-19 early Monday morning after being detained at the Stewart Detention Center (Stewart) in Georgia. Chavez-Alvarez is the third person to die from COVID-19 this year at the facility where there have been over 330 total confirmed COVID-19 cases. Georgia Detention Watch, Project South, El Refugio, and Detention Watch Network are demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conduct an expedited death review, while also calling on the Department of Homeland…

Lumpkin, Georgia – El Refugio, Georgia Detention Watch, Project South, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR), and Detention Watch Network extend their deepest sympathies to the family of Jose Freddy Guillen Vega, who died Aug. 10 of complications from COVID-19 while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Mr. Guillen Vega, 70, was sent last month to Stewart Detention Center, where he was awaiting deportation to Costa Rica. Mr. Guillen Vega’s son, Jeffery Guillen, told El Refugio that his father had diabetes and other pre-existing health conditions. He was taken to…

Taylor, TX — Last week, in a move seemingly designed to ensure mass detention continues for another decade, ICE awarded 10-year contracts to private prison corporations to operate two notorious Texas detention centers — CorecCivic’s T. Don Hutto and GEO Group’s South Texas Detention Complex. The move comes after ongoing opposition to the long-term contracts including from more than 45 organizations and Texas Representatives. Thursday, CoreCivic announced on its quarterly investor conference call that it has signed a 10-year contract renewal with ICE at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in…

Washington, DC — This week two deaths were reported in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) custody, Kuan Hui Lee, a 51-year-old man who died after being detained at the Krome Detention Center in Miami, and a unidentified 72-year-old man who tested positive for COVID-19 while detained at the Immigration Centers of America (ICA)-operated Farmville Detention Center in Virginia. The two deaths bring the alarming death toll in ICE custody to 17 for FY2020, making it the deadliest year for the egregious agency since 2006, as reported by Buzzfeed. “ICE disregards the safety and wellbeing of…

Washington, DC — In response to the announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Matthew T. Albence is retiring, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network made the following statement: “During Albence’s tenure at ICE, including leading the Enforcement and Removal Operations and serving as Acting Director of the agency, he ruthlessly double-downed on ICE’s mission to target people, separate loved ones, and sow fear into communities nationwide. Over the last several months of the pandemic he has ignored the outbreak of Covid-19 inside detention…

Washington, DC — This week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported two deaths of people in its custody, Onoval Pérez-Montufa, 51, who died Sunday after contracting the coronavirus and Luis Sánchez-Pérez, 46, who died yesterday on July 15. Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following statement in response: “We’ve said it numerous times before and unfortunately we have to say it again with two more lives tragically lost this week alone: people are in jeopardy in ICE custody. And not only are we saying it, we’ve proven it with report after report that…

Washington, DC — On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it is recruiting for the inaugural class of a new Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago Citizens Academy (ECA). This will build upon similar programs that exist within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). In response to this news, Detention Watch Network and the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America offered the following statements: Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, said: “There is no ambiguity about the intention of this new…

Washington, DC — The House Appropriations Committee this week proposed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill for fiscal year 2021 that begins the long overdue process of defunding our nation’s deadly immigration detention system. This bill takes steps to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) accountable for their wasteful spending, which has torn apart thousands of families and cost more than 55 lives in custody since 2017. The proposed spending bill also reduces money for detention, rescinds money for wall construction, and does…

Washington, DC — Today the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The following is a statement by Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network: “Detention Watch Network applauds today’s Supreme Court decision. With today’s ruling, nearly 700,000 young people will not be subjected to aggressive raids, deadly detention centers, and life-altering deportations that already affect thousands of immigrants not benefiting from the program. Loved ones, community members, and co-workers will be able to stay in the U.S…

Washington, DC— A year after the Defund Hate campaign warned Congress that increasing funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under an emergency supplemental bill would result in wasteful spending rather than improved care for migrants at the southern U.S. border, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that is exactly what happened. In an audit decision issued on June 11, 2020, the GAO found that instead of spending the $112 million allocated by Congress under a 2019 emergency supplemental appropriations bill to pay for medical care and other supplies to care for migrants…

Washington, D.C. – In solidarity with the millions of Black people and allies who have taken to the street to defend Black lives and demand justice for those who have been killed by police, the Defund Hate Coalition issued the following statement: “As a coalition committed to the divestment from agencies that tear apart families and terrorize our communities, we are in solidarity with Black communities and allies demanding justice in calling for the defunding of this country’s militarized police forces. We know that the mechanisms built to target, detain, and deport immigrants are rooted in…

Washington, D.C. – In a C-SPAN interview, Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf outlines plans to request additional DHS funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). This comes following a BuzzFeed News report and CBS News report about budget shortages at USCIS due to decreased revenue from application fees. The Defund Hate Coalition issued the following statement: “The comments from Secretary Wolf for an increase in funding for DHS comes after two people held in ICE detention…

Burlington, Massachusetts — As community members prepare to take action across the country today calling for the immediate release of people from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, activists kicked off the national day of action by replacing the ICE flag at the agency’s Boston Field Office with a new flag that reads “ICE Kills. Free Them All.” The flag removal and replacement was done anonymously as an act of solidarity with people in detention, underscoring ICE’s fatal medical neglect and complete disregard of people’s lives as COVID-19 rapidly spreads in immigration…