Organizational Letters to Congress

On the campaign trail, President Biden promised to prioritize the dignity of immigrants and those seeking safety in the United States. As he took office in January 2021, the number of people in ICE detention had decreased to approximately 15,000 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the previous administration's anti-asylum policies). These historically low numbers provided the Biden administration with an opportunity to chart a new path. Instead, the number of people detained began increasing again after the first month of President Biden's term. In addition, on the campaign trail President Biden committed to ending the use of private immigration detention centers, but his January 2021 Executive Order phasing out federal private prisons excluded facilities used by DHS to detain immigrants and at least one of the facilities closed under the executive order has been converted to an ICE facility.