For Immediate Release: December 20, 2019
Dignity not Detention coalition responds to Feds’ illicit scheme to prop up for-profit detention, urges immediate legal action from AG Becerra
12.20.2019 - Today, news broke that ICE has signed contracts to extend for-profit detention of immigrants in California, the Dignity not Detention Coalition issued the statement below. The move runs counter to federal procurement law and the state’s AB 32, which goes into effect on January 1.
It’s extremely heartless and cruel for ICE to waste taxpayer money to prop up an abusive detention system. We have a vision for a better future, and AB 32 is a crucial part of that vision -- this money should be used for housing and health for everyone, not to detain and abuse community members. We call on Attorney General Becerra and our Congressional delegation to take immediate action to defend our neighbors from abuse and to hold the Trump administration and corporations accountable for this corrupt and illicit scheme.
The Dignity not Detention includes California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance, Freedom for Immigrants, Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), Immigrant Defense Advocates, Immigrant Defense Project, Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ), Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, and others.