Jayapal Demands Answers from Trump Administration on Treatment of Immigrants

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding more information on reports that federal prisons are being used to detain immigrants during civil immigration proceedings.

“The detention of noncitizens in criminal prison facilities contradicts the civil nature of immigration law, risks further criminalizing immigration enforcement, and diverts critical resources away from the intended purpose of the federal prison system,” wrote Jayapal.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigration detention “is non-punitive.” It is not intended for punishment but rather to ensure that individuals comply with immigration proceedings. Recent reports indicate that ICE is detaining individuals in multiple Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities under disturbing conditions that are unfit for any person, regardless of whether it is for civil or criminal purposes, including in one that was slated for closure due to widespread sexual abuse.

This letter requests detailed information on the scope of this practice, including which facilities are being used, the criteria for selecting these facilities, the conditions of detention, reports of mistreatment or abuse, and whether detained individuals are subject to the same restrictions as those convicted of federal crimes.

Jayapal has been a staunch advocate for detained immigrants, having, on multiple occasions, called to end the use of private, for-profit prisons, which are often rife with abuse, and to move toward humane, community-based alternatives to detention for immigrants who pose no public safety risk. She is also the lead sponsor of the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, legislation that would end the use of private, for-profit detention centers, improve detention conditions, and protect the civil and human rights of immigrants.

The letter was also signed by Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Summer Lee (PA-12), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18),  James P. McGovern (MA-02), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Adam Smith (WA-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).

The full text of the letter can be read here.

Issues: Immigration