Fix Inhumane Detention Conditions

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detains immigrants in a patchwork system of more than 250 facilities across the country. Even though immgiration detention is intended as a "civil" form of custody – meaning people are held not due to criminal convictions but as an administrative measure while their immigration cases are pending – the majority of detention facilities are local jails or prisons run by private prison contractors. Detained immigrants frequently endure unjust and disrespectful treatment on the part of DHS and jail guards. Their access to counsel, or even phones to use to contact the outside world, is severely restricted. Many detention facilities are located in remote areas of the country, creating a barrier for access to family, religious services, and medical care. DHS frequently transfers immigrants between facilities without informing families or lawyers. Numerous reports by the DHS Office of Inspector General and by immigrant advocacy organizations have detailed the appalling conditions in immigration detention facilities.