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

Death Toll in ICE Custody Climbs to 17 with 2 deaths reported this week as COVID-19 Ravages Detention Centers Nationwide

August 7, 2020

Washington, DC — This week two deaths were reported in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) custody, Kuan Hui Lee, a 51-year-old man who died after being detained at the Krome Detention Center in Miami, and a unidentified 72-year-old man who tested positive for COVID-19 while detained at the Immigration Centers of America (ICA)-operated Farmville Detention Center in Virginia.

Two deaths in ICE detention in four days — ICE is an integral part of the deadly police infrastructure

July 16, 2020

Washington, DC — This week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported two deaths of people in its custody, Onoval Pérez-Montufa, 51, who died Sunday after contracting the coronavirus and Luis Sánchez-Pérez, 46, who died yesterday on July 15. 

Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network offered the following statement in response:

ICE is Recruiting a ‘Citizen’ Army to Fuel Its Propaganda Machine

July 9, 2020

Washington, DC — On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it is recruiting for the inaugural class of a new Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago Citizens Academy (ECA). This will build upon similar programs that exist within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  In response to this news, Detention Watch Network and the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America offered the following statements:

Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, said:

House Homeland Security Spending Proposal Shows Congress is Beginning to Recognize it Must #DefundHate in the U.S. Immigration System

July 6, 2020

Washington, DC — The House Appropriations Committee this week proposed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill for fiscal year 2021 that begins the long overdue process of defunding our nation’s deadly immigration detention system. This bill takes steps to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) accountable for their wasteful spending, which has torn apart thousands of families and cost more than 55 lives in custody since 2017.

CBP Can’t Be Trusted: Defund Hate Campaign Responds to Congressional Watchdog Finding that CBP Spent “Humanitarian Aid” Money on Dog Supplies and Dirt Bikes

June 15, 2020

Washington, DC— A year after the Defund Hate campaign warned Congress that increasing funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under an emergency supplemental bill would result in wasteful spending rather than improved care for migrants at the southern U.S. border, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that is exactly what happened.

Defunding Hate Means Protecting Black Lives 

June 4, 2020

Washington, D.C. – In solidarity with the millions of Black people and allies who have taken to the street to defend Black lives and demand justice for those who have been killed by police, the Defund Hate Coalition issued the following statement: 

“As a coalition committed to the divestment from agencies that tear apart families and terrorize our communities, we are in solidarity with Black communities and allies demanding justice in calling for the defunding of this country’s militarized police forces.

To Kick Off National Day of Action, Activists Replace ICE Flag with the Message: “ICE Kills. Free Them All”

May 28, 2020

Burlington, Massachusetts — As community members prepare to take action across the country today calling for the immediate release of people from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, activists kicked off the national day of action by replacing the ICE flag at the agency’s Boston Field Office with a new flag that reads “ICE Kills. Free Them All.”

Advocates take action across the country demanding people be released from ICE detention while calling attention to a rise of protests inside detention

May 28, 2020

Washington, DC — Today, Detention Watch Network and organizations representing immigrant communities from across the country took action calling for all people to be released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. The day of action follows a number of protests by people in detention demanding to be released over growing concerns of coronavirus infection.

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