Pressroom

Our latest press releases on important news and events relating to immigration detention in the United States

For media inquiries contact: media@detentionwatchnetwork.org

Biden and the Democrats Cosign Brazen Plan to Advance a Right Wing Agenda on Immigration

February 5, 2024

Washington, DC – Yesterday the Senate released text of a proposed funding bill that would provide Biden with $118 billion in response to his $106 billion supplemental funding request. The bill includes numerous cruel and dangerous anti-immigrant provisions and will gravely impact people’s ability to seek safety and opportunity in the U.S. 

In response, Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director at Detention Watch Network issued the following statement:

Two deaths in ICE detention one week into December

December 13, 2023

Washington, DC – Last week, Frankline Okpu, 37, died on December 6 and Carlos Juan Francisco, 42, died on December 4, both in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The tragic passing of Okpu and Francisco marks 14 reported deaths in ICE custody under the Biden administration.

DHS Sec. Mayorkas and Members of Congress Confronted in the Halls of Congress Calling for a Ceasefire and to Reject Biden’s Supplemental Funding Request

November 8, 2023

Washington, DC – Today, following a Senate Appropriations Hearing, activists and immigration attorneys, including Muslims for Just Futures, Pangea Legal Services, and Project ANAR confronted Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over President Biden’s $105 billion supplemental funding request, including $8.7 billion in additional funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), doubling down on a policy of hyper militarization and incarceration.

Watch the video of the confrontation with Mayorkas

HAPPENING NOW: U.S. Activists Arrested Protesting President Biden’s Violent Funding Request to Congress

October 31, 2023

Washington, DC – Right now, at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, seven activists representing progressive causes across the United States, including immigrant rights groups, are being arrested for demanding an immediate ceasefire and that members of Congress vehemently reject the White House’s supplemental funding request. With red paint on their hands, activists chanted “from Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!”

White House Doubles Down on Militarization and Incarceration with New Supplemental Funding Request

October 23, 2023

Washington, DC — On Friday, the White House made a supplemental funding request of $105 billion, including a $13.6 billion in border supplemental, doubling down on a policy of hyper militarization and incarceration that makes our communities less safe. Most of the funding is designated for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and while it provides some crucial humanitarian aid, a majority of the remainder of the request is for military resources through the Department of Defense (DOD).

Biden’s ICE Detention System Proves Deadly, Again

October 11, 2023

United States - Yesterday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that a 32-year-old man named Julio Cesar Chirino Peralta died in its custody. ICE had detained Mr. Peralta at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas, for less than a month before the day of his death on October 8. Mr. Peralta is the 12th person who has died in ICE custody during the Biden administration's first term.

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