Immigration reform - specifically on the detention of immigrants - is bordering on a point of political transformation. The DHS announced this week that the US government will no longer hold detainees in prisons. I wrote a quick template letter the editor for Amnesty on this issue and I wanted to share it -
Immigrant Injustice
Dear Editor,
Recently the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that immigrants detained in the United States will no longer be held in prisons during their detention. The decision by Secretary Napolitano is an important step but this only one step.
The United States expects to detain more than 440,000 immigrants annually including asylum seekers, lawful permanent residents, survivors of torture and U.S. citizens.
Amnesty International reported in March that immigrants can be detained for months or years without any form of meaningful individualized review of whether their detention is necessary. The vast majority of people in immigration detention are unable to obtain the legal assistance necessary to present viable claims in court.
New legislation from Congress is needed to ensure all immigrants and asylum seekers have access to affordable bonds and individualized hearings on the necessity of detention.
Sincerely,
Amnesty International member
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Bravo!
ReplyDeleteHas this gone out on their listserv? What is the particular legislation proposed?
DHS's detention reform is the first on this front. AI began focusing on immigration detention last march and produced this finding -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amnestyusa.org/immigrant-rights/immigrant-detention-report/page.do?id=1641033
the report influenced the initial reform by the DHS. Seeing momentum, AI plans to push for further reform measures and congressional action this fall but right now, all that I'm aware of is writing in to papers and congress hoping to draw attention to the issue.