The bill, introduced last week by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, contains some of the strongest language yet to come out of Congress holding the Department of Homeland Security accountable for its treatment of the more than 280,000 men, women, and children who pass through its custody every year.
The National Immigrant Justice Center will work with Rep. Roybal-Allard to build support for the bill and will continue to urge members of Congress to make fair and humane reform of the immigrant detention system a priority in 2009.
Read NIJC's full statement on the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act here.