Transgender detainees will now be held in facilities matching their gender identity, ICE immigration officials announced on Monday. From Fusion: “We believe this guidance is the most comprehensive for transgender individuals in any custodial entity,” Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, the deputy assistant director for custody programs for ICE, told Fusion in...
Continue
»
In a press conference earlier today, a group of House Democrats welcomed news that DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson will make changes, including limiting detention times and lowering bond rates, to the family detention system. But after visiting two facilities in Texas earlier this week, including one where a detained mother recently...
Continue
»
Yesterday, eight House Democrats spent several hours meeting with detained mothers and their children at the Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes, Texas. Rep. Joaquin Castro, who led the Congressional delegation, called it “a very emotional visit,” with one mother saying she and her child have been detained at...
Continue
»
In a press conference yesterday, eight House Democrats announced plans to visit two detention centers in Texas early next week. The House members, including Whip Steny Hoyer, Rep. Joaquin Castro, Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard,...
Continue
»
With pressure from both advocates and members of Congress mounting over the past several weeks, immigration officials announced yesterday plans to release at least six immigrant mothers from a Texas detention facility. “The women now eligible for bond had previous requests for release denied by U.S. Immigration and Customs...
Continue
»
Earlier today, immigration, family, and children’s advocates held a “Twitterstorm” calling for DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson to end the administration’s harmful family detention policy. The movement to end family detention has gained considerable steam over the past few months, with over 150 Democrats from both chambers of Congress sending letters...
Continue
»
Today, Senate Democrats sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson urging him to “end the practice of presumptive detention of families.” “While these mothers and children wait their turn before an immigration judge, there are many alternatives to detention that are more humane, cost-efficient, and will keep families...
Continue
»
Today, 136 House Democrats sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson asking the administration to end its family detention policy. The letter, which includes a majority of House Democrats, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, was spearheaded by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Lucille Roybal-Allard, and...
Continue
»
This morning, nearly a dozen members of Congress, including Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and Rep. Lucille Royball-Allard, held a press conference calling for the Department of Homeland Security to end its controversial family detention program. The House Democrats were joined by Dree Collopy, a pro bono attorney...
Continue
»
One vote was the deciding factor that put an end to the controversial 287g program in Los Angeles County, California. The program, which was adopted in 2005, allowed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to enter county jails in order to determine whether certain inmates could be transferred into...
Continue
»
