People flee their countries for many reasons such as violence, war, hunger, extreme poverty, sexual identity, climate crisis and natural disasters. Everyone has the human right under international law to seek asylum – without discrimination of any kind. Welcoming people from other countries strengthens and diversifies communities and makes us more resilient in our fast-changing world. In a globalized world, sharing global responsibility for global issues is the just thing to do.
Immigration detention in the U.S. is unnecessary, rife with systemic abuses, arbitrary, and unlawful under international human rights law. Detaining people solely on account of their immigration status constitutes arbitrary detention, a violation of international law. The detention of families violates the U.S.’s obligations toward the treatment of immigrant children. Fearmongering false narratives about migrant crime and invasions at the border advances policies grounded in white supremacist ideas at the expense of immigrants and people in search of safety in the U.S.
The Trump administration is trampling on civil rights and civil liberties to carry out mass deportations of our immigrant neighbors and friends, who are beloved members of our communities. Black and Brown immigrants are disproportionately targeted by both local police and ICE.
From billion-dollar profits for private prison corporations, like GEO Group and CoreCivic, to filling the gaps of shrinking local budgets, detention contracts incentivize the incarceration of immigrants as a money-making scheme. Whether a detention facility is run by ICE, a local government, or a corporation, detention centers are rife with systemic
abuses, medical neglect, and drive perverse profits off people’s lives.
Please see Amnesty International USA’s Dismantle the Mass Deportation Machine and Invest in Welcoming Communities campaign page, get involved and take action!
Resources:
Vera Institute maintains a data trends website with a map where you can see all the detention facilities in your area. Check it out HERE.
Freedom For Immigrants also maintains a map of immigration detention facilities, including links to news articles about the facility and stories from inside. Check it out HERE
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) maintains a list of deaths in detention, a critical resource as deaths in detention become increasingly common. Check it out HERE.
Amnesty International has created a list of 50 ways you can take action. Check it out HERE
Learn more about reports and urgent actions on Amnesty’s Refugees and Asylum-Seekers here.