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

193 Organizations Urge the Biden Administration to Take Decisive Action to Protect Immigrants

November 15, 2024

Washington, DC – Today, 193 immigrant justice organizations sent a letter to President Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, urging the administration to take decisive action to prevent catastrophe for millions of people and avoid handing the keys to an expanded and inhumane detention and deportation system to the next administration. 

Specifically, the letter implores the administration to:

New Report Compiles Decades of Abuse at a Notorious ICE Detention Center in Arizona

October 30, 2024

Eloy, Arizona  — Today, Detention Watch Network, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and Trans Queer Pueblo released an ‘Anthology of Abuse’ on the Eloy Detention Center (Eloy) in Eloy, Arizona. Eloy has gained notoriety as the "deadliest immigration detention center in the U.S.," with at least 16 reported deaths, including five suicides. The report calls for the release of people detained and the permanent closure of the facility immediately.

People who have experienced detention and immigrant justice advocates meet with members of Congress to halt ICE expansion and end immigration detention

September 23, 2024

Washington, DC – Today, a delegation of immigrant justice advocates and people who have experienced immigration detention representing Arizona, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Virginia and Pennsylvania will meet with their elected officials and key members of Congress to discuss the alarming abuses in immigration detention, negative impact of the detention and immigration enforcement system on local communities, and make the following demands:

ICE continues to eye immigration detention expansion, now on the West Coast, flying in the face of community values and state legislation

September 18, 2024

Los Angeles, CA – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking to expand immigration detention capacity in the West with the potential to impact Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Posted in August, ICE’s West Coast Multi-State Request for Information (RFI), is seeking detention capacity of 850 to 950 additional detention beds within a two hour drive for each of the following ICE field office locations: Phoenix, El Paso, Seattle, and San Francisco.

221 Organizations Call for ICE’s Expansion Efforts to Halt Amid a Pattern of Deteriorating Conditions in Immigration Detention

July 11, 2024

Washington, DC – Today, 221 immigrant justice organizations sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, urging the administration to halt Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) immigration detention expansion efforts, while restoring free phone access to people in detention, and protecting the basic rights of the people in the agency’s custody.

Loss of Free Phone Access – A Critical Lifeline in Detention – Triggers Hunger Strikes

June 13, 2024

Washington, DC – Last week reports began emerging of a troubling trend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. People detained in 16 facilities from across the country reported losing free phone access – a critical lifeline for the mental health of a person in detention to stay connected with their loved ones and prepare for their immigration case. In a haphazard rollout and without notice, ICE has confirmed it will be ending this program at all facilities.

Biden Must Shut Down South Texas Family Detention Center “Dilley” Without Expanding Detention Elsewhere

June 11, 2024

Dilley, Texas – Yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, commonly referred to as “Dilley,” will close. Advocates who have long called out the rampant abuse at Dilley are frustrated that the motive to close Dilley is to expand detention elsewhere. The administration plans to increase immigration detention by an estimated 1,600 detention beds. Let us be clear: Whenever people are in ICE custody, lives are in jeopardy.

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