President Biden must take immediate action to shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities and halt plans for expansion. Allowing further growth of the inhumane immigrant detention system would enable the incoming Trump administration to escalate its mass deportation agenda, terrorizing communities and lining the pockets of private prison corporations. During the previous Trump presidency, over 40 new ICE detention facilities opened, predominantly operated by for-profit companies like GEO Group which made $1.05 billion from ICE contracts in 2022 alone. Their business model is predicated on detaining more people, incentivizing policies that separate families and deprive due process. Documented abuses in these facilities include medical neglect, sexual assault, use of force, and at least 43 preventable deaths in ICE custody over the past four years. Rather than expanding this abusive system, President Biden should close egregious facilities and rescind all contracts and solicitations seeking new detention space. Over 90% of detained immigrants are held in privately operated jails, funneling taxpayer dollars into corporate profits instead of humane and cost-effective alternatives to detention. Halting this unethical industry is crucial to protecting vulnerable communities from the chaos and human rights violations that mass deportations would unleash. The current administration has the power to dismantle these structures of oppression and uphold American values of freedom and human dignity.
First sent on December 13, 2024 by Nobody is above the law
