Press Release
Published on March 26, 2021
NEW YORK — Human Rights First welcomed today’s reintroduction of the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act by Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Adam Smith (D-WA), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), which will end the use of private detention facilities, repeal mandatory detention, prohibit solitary confinement, and promote community-based alternatives to detention while also restoring due process for immigrants and increasing oversight, accountability, and transparency measures.
“We support this legislation to swiftly release immigrants, including asylum seekers, from detention. Detention is inhumane and serves as a substantial barrier to due process,” said Human Rights First Director of Refugee Advocacy Jennifer Quigley. “People seeking refuge in the United States don’t belong in detention, especially during a pandemic. We strongly urge Congress to support this critical legislation and ensure its swift passage.”
Human Rights First has long decried the use of immigration detention. Since the onset of the Chttps://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/world-refugee-day-2016-family-detention-two-yearsOVID-19, Human Rights First has also been sounding the alarm alongside medical and public health experts on the dangers of immigration detention amid the pandemic.
