ICE detention numbers are up alongside spike in new detention facilities and new 287(g) agreements. Nearly 25% of detainees now have no criminal histories.
Thanks as always for this clear post and data and for continuing to represent in local and national media as information is power. I am an immigration activist and knowing this info helps me in my work to help free detainees. I often post your substack to our Witness at the Border (almost 20K subscribers) on Facebook. Keep it coming please.
Another aspect of the cruelty here is the lack of information on the ICE locator website, which is so essential for families, advocates and attorneys to learn where people are being held. Case in point -- it's been 10 days since six chicken hatchery workers were taken in Watertown, NY, and we have no idea where 2 of them are being held. They show up as "in ICE custody," but w/o the location. Just one of the six has the specific location on the site, and that took almost a week to be updated. (A series of frustrating phone calls to ICE and BP offices yielded no information). We know where three of the six detainees are only because they're listed on the accesscorrections website, one of the many companies making a profit from human suffering via phone and other charges. We finally had to call the consulate of the home country for help. I wonder if other advocates and families are having this problem, and if it's a "capacity" issue or a deliberate ramping up of the cruelty. I have my suspicions.
Thanks as always for this clear post and data and for continuing to represent in local and national media as information is power. I am an immigration activist and knowing this info helps me in my work to help free detainees. I often post your substack to our Witness at the Border (almost 20K subscribers) on Facebook. Keep it coming please.
Another aspect of the cruelty here is the lack of information on the ICE locator website, which is so essential for families, advocates and attorneys to learn where people are being held. Case in point -- it's been 10 days since six chicken hatchery workers were taken in Watertown, NY, and we have no idea where 2 of them are being held. They show up as "in ICE custody," but w/o the location. Just one of the six has the specific location on the site, and that took almost a week to be updated. (A series of frustrating phone calls to ICE and BP offices yielded no information). We know where three of the six detainees are only because they're listed on the accesscorrections website, one of the many companies making a profit from human suffering via phone and other charges. We finally had to call the consulate of the home country for help. I wonder if other advocates and families are having this problem, and if it's a "capacity" issue or a deliberate ramping up of the cruelty. I have my suspicions.