Jayapal Introduces Bill To End Inhumane Immigration Detention Conditions

India-West Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), along with Rep. Adam Smith, has introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, legislation to enact guardrails and oversight on immigration detention, and to ensure civil and human rights are protected. 

“Under the Trump Administration, we have seen a shocking surge in the detention of people who have committed no crimes being locked up in increasingly horrifying conditions,” said Jayapal. 

“People are being held in squalor, largely in private, for-profit detention facilities, all to pad the bottom lines of prison corporations that donate to Donald Trump and Republicans. As Trump has struck down legal pathways and made it nearly impossible to come to or stay in this country, even for those who have been here for decades, this will only continue to get worse. We must pass this legislation to protect dignity and civil rights in America.”

“We are witnessing appalling conditions for immigration detention and a clear disregard for basic human rights,” said Smith. “No one should be subjected to overcrowded cells, denied medical care, or held in facilities that profit off of human suffering. This legislation establishes the oversight and guardrails needed to end these abuses and ensure that people are treated with dignity.”

The lawmakers noted:

–        Since President Trump returned to office, the use of immigration detention has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, with over 66,000 people detained.

–        During that period of time, 23 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the congressional representatives noted.

–        Nearly 73 percent of those detained have no criminal convictions, and many of those with convictions have only minor offenses, including traffic violations. 

Detained people in these facilities are being held in inhumane living conditions, with reports of overcrowding forcing 35 men to share one toilet and sleep head to toe on concrete floors, of people being served only a cup of rice a day or rotting food, and of people having their medications withheld or being denied necessary medical care.

The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would: 

• Repeal mandatory detention;
• Prohibit the detention of families and children in family detention;
• Create a presumption of release and impose a higher burden of proof to detain primary caregivers and vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, survivors of torture or gender-based violence, people with serious mental or physical illness or disability, LGBTQ individuals, asylum seekers, and people over age 60;
• Phase out the use of private detention facilities and jails over a three-year period;
• Require DHS to establish civil detention standards that provide, at minimum, the level of protection in the American Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards;
• Mandate the DHS Inspector General to conduct unannounced inspections with meaningful penalties for failure to comply with standards; and
• Require DHS to admit Members of Congress to detention facilities for unannounced inspections.

Democrats Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar are among those who support the bill.