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DWN was founded in 1997 by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in response to the rapid growth of the immigration detention system in the United States, as a result of the immigration laws passed by Congress in 1996.
Since its inception the network has transformed into a membership-based coalition which now includes over 80 religious, civil, immigrant and human rights organizations as well as many individual members. Our members bring rich and diverse expertise to the table.
They are lawyers, legal workers, activists, doctors, psychologists, national advocates, social workers, community organizers, artists, clergy, students, formerly detained immigrants, and affected families from around the country. They are engaged in individual case and impact litigation, documenting conditions violations, local and national administrative and legislative advocacy, community organizing and mobilizing, communication and messaging, popular education, teaching, and social service and pastoral care.
Together, our members share their on-the-ground expertise, passion and commitment to bring to light the abuses of civil rights and civil liberties and the inhumane treatment and conditions within the U.S. detention and deportation system and identify solutions and strategies for reform. We believe that by working together we can effect greater change in the immigration detention system.
DWN is led by an elected steering committee of representatives from member organizations who provide leadership on governance, planning and fundraising. The core of DWN's work is carried out by member committees.
Read about our Core Values and Principles or learn more about becoming a DWN Member.
Detention Watch Network is a fiscally-sponsored project of Tides Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and the nation's largest fiscal sponsor.
