Washington, DC — In response to the news that the Department of Defense is colluding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to expand the immigration detention system with six tent detention camps to house 7,500 migrants, Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement:
“By adding massive detention camps to a web of already-deadly immigration detention, the administration is pouring gasoline on a raging fire. This addition will be on top of Trump’s already massive detention system that has grown by more than 40 percent since he took office and ICE’s well-documented track record of abuse exacerbated by a complete lack of transparency or accountability.
The agreement to use DOD facilities for ICE detention is a lethal combination that circumvents the congressional appropriations process and follows an alarming pattern of expanding detention through back-door deals.
Immigration detention is not the answer: not for asylum seekers, or for anyone else. It’s a punitive system where lives are in jeopardy. Congress must cut funding for detention in FY20, reject the Trump administration's supplemental request for detention funding and stop the expansion now.”
###
Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to expose and challenge the injustices of the United States’ immigration detention and deportation system and advocate for profound change that promotes the rights and dignity of all persons. Founded in 1997 by immigrant rights groups, DWN brings together advocates to unify strategy and build partnerships on a local and national level to end immigration detention. Visit www.detentionwatchnetwork.org. Follow @DetentionWatch.