The First 100 Days: Biden on Immigration Detention

This weblog is the primary in a three-part sequence from the Immigration Justice Marketing campaign.

Reflecting on his launch from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Thomas,* a person who fled near-death in Cameroon, mentioned:

“I’ll all the time keep in mind that day, it felt like Christmas day. I used to be overwhelmed with pleasure, it felt just like the darkness had lastly been lifted. I had dreamed of my freedom for therefore lengthy and now I used to be lastly given a contemporary begin.”

Thomas spent 18 months in ICE detention when he might have been pursuing his declare for asylum in the USA from the house of a sponsor. Sadly, Thomas’ story is way from distinctive.

When ICE launched its new enforcement priorities, the company narrowed its focus to these suspected of being a menace to nationwide safety, border safety, and public security. Lots of these in ICE detention don’t fall underneath any of these classes. But, 1000’s of people who find themselves not enforcement priorities and lots of who stay at excessive danger of significant sickness from COVID-19 are nonetheless needlessly locked in detention.

As a part of the Biden administration’s new strategy towards immigration enforcement, the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) introduced it might conduct a 100-day assessment of its enforcement insurance policies starting on President Biden’s first day in workplace.

That deadline for the 100-day assessment is approaching. Nevertheless, ICE has but to announce a proper course of to assessment the instances of everybody in its custody for launch, together with those that aren’t enforcement priorities.

Immigration detention is traumatic, harmful, and dehumanizing. It needs to be changed with humane, community-based packages for many who want them and common authorized illustration. The cash that may very well be used for these holistic and protection-centered approaches is as an alternative being funneled to non-public jail corporations. This establishes perverse incentives for over-incarceration and the extended detention of those that are in search of safety in the USA.

Probably the most basic human want—security—needs to be met with humanity, not an excessively punitive system rife with insufficient medical care, flouted COVID-19 protocols, and an overuse of solitary confinement. Folks like Thomas are handled like criminals for his or her authorized pursuits of asylum.

The Biden administration can and should act instantly to launch extra people from immigration detention, together with those that fall exterior the interim enforcement steerage and people at heightened danger of significant sickness from COVID-19.

Nothing is misplaced by releasing folks from the tough situations of detention. Research present that immigrants launched from detention nonetheless attend their courtroom hearings in excessive numbers. A lot is gained from a extra humane and community-based strategy to immigration providers—not the least of which is a return to our nation’s id as a refuge for these fleeing hurt.

*Signifies use of pseudonym

FILED UNDER: Biden-Harris Administration