Detention Center Reforms Announced by ICE Welcomed
Washington,
Aug 7, 2009 -
Today, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) welcomed a series of reforms announced by John Morton, the new head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which are intended to improve oversight of America’s deeply flawed immigration detention system.
Congresswoman Roybal-Allard said, “The creation of advisory boards to recommend positive changes to detention policy and the hiring of officials to monitor conditions at detention centers will shine a brighter light on a system that for too long has suffered from inadequate oversight. These thoughtful changes will help to ensure that our immigration authorities no longer disregard the basic rights of the men, women and children in their custody.”
“While I am encouraged by the steps that ICE has outlined, more must be done to safeguard the civil liberties and protect the well-being of immigrant detainees. The changes that ICE proposed are the starting point—not the finish line—for detention reform,” continued Congresswoman Roybal-Allard. “Only when we have established enforceable standards and extended basic due process protections to every person in our custody will we have a detention system consistent with our nation’s laws and compatible with our shared values.”
Congresswoman Roybal-Allard introduced the H.R.1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act to strengthen and codify existing detention standards; to ensure that unaccompanied children are treated compassionately; and, to guarantee that every detained person has access to medical care and legal advice. The bill would also expand community-based “alternatives to detention,” such as supervision and monitoring programs, for detainees who do not constitute a flight risk or pose a threat to their communities.
Congresswoman Roybal-Allard is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which has funding jurisdiction over Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(Please click the following link to read the agency’s release on the reforms http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0908/090806washington.htm)
