Two hundred rights groups are calling on President Biden to abandon plans for the expansion of immigrant detention facilities, denouncing the move as “cruel” and “inhumane.” In a joint statement issued Thursday, the organizations cited widespread evidence of human rights abuses within U.S. immigration detention centers and accused the administration of betraying its campaign promises.
The Biden administration recently signed a spending bill allocating $3.4 billion to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), enabling the agency to increase its capacity to detain up to 41,500 immigrants daily across the country.
Despite campaigning on a platform of ending the use of for-profit detention centers, President Biden’s actions have drawn criticism from advocacy groups who argue that his administration is exacerbating a flawed and abusive system. They highlight the president’s reversal of course, pointing out that upon taking office, there were fewer than 15,000 individuals in immigration detention—a situation they deemed an opportunity for meaningful reform.
However, the administration’s budget requests for 2023 and 2024 indicated a shift towards maintaining and even expanding detention funding. This move, according to the groups, contradicts earlier recommendations by ICE to close numerous facilities due to staffing shortages and unsafe conditions. Critics argue that Biden’s decision to request supplemental detention funding in the face of political pressure has led to unprecedented levels of funding surpassing the previous administration’s allocation.
In a letter addressed to the president, signatories including Amnesty International USA, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), and the Texas Civil Rights Project expressed dismay at the administration’s failure to uphold its commitment to human rights. They emphasized the detrimental impact of detention on migrants, many of whom suffer long-term psychological and physical harm as a result of inadequate conditions and mistreatment.
The organizations cited various instances of abuse within detention centers, including insufficient medical care leading to fatalities, reports of abuse against LGBTQ+ individuals, and the use of solitary confinement deemed tantamount to torture by human rights experts.
The call for action comes in the wake of the death of Charles Daniel, a migrant from Trinidad and Tobago, who died at a detention center after being held in solitary confinement for four years. Advocates underscored the urgency of the situation, highlighting statistics revealing frequent use of solitary confinement by ICE, which they argue constitutes torture under international law.
Critics argue that detention serves no rational policy goal and fails to deter migrants from seeking refuge in the United States. They urge the administration to reconsider its approach and focus on more humane alternatives for border processing.
Data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse indicates that a significant portion of ICE detainees have no criminal record, further fueling calls for a reassessment of detention policies.
In conclusion, the advocacy groups called on President Biden to reverse course on the expansion of immigrant detention, warning that increased incarceration of immigrants is a grave mistake that warrants immediate action.