Thread by @RachelMcGonagi1

The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act was originally introduced in 2018, but HR 2415 is back in 2019, via @RepJayapal, @RepAdamSmith & in the Senate, @SenBooker has introduced S 1243.

Let's run down the particulars of the House bill!

#FamilySeparation #FamiliesBelongTogether

https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1125815304834179078

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker Text of the House Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act itself, HR 2415.

"To provide standards for facilities at which aliens in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security are detained, and for other purposes."

(sorry for the delay--some BP issues)
congress.gov/bill/116th-con…

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker HR 2415 has 8 sections, but 2 are basically "this is the bill's name" and "yep, that was the bill," so we'll look at the other 6.

Sec2 says DHS detention facilities need to adopt standards within a year of the bill's passage, no less strict than the ABA set forth in 2012.

Good.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists Sec3 we start getting meatier.

OVERSIGHT OF DHS DETENTION FACILITIES, Yesss!

A. Periodic inspections by OIG
--Now remember, it was the OIG reports from the border & ORR detention centers that let us know some of the worst abuses going on. Like this one:
oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/…

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists #HR2415 gets VERY specific about penalties to be applied to any facility that does not pass its inspection on the first go, and woe betide them if they don't pass twice.

B, C, & D have to do with "death of an alien" in DHS custody, and I'm just going to leave these here.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND #HR2415 cont'd

Sec 3E&F are basically: you WILL make your records available.

G is interesting, cuz it mandates DHS keep a PUBLIC reckoning of ALL sites where it detains immigrants & demographics thereof, wrt ages, genders, #s of beds & ave. length of detention, etc.

Excellent.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND That's been a big problem for a while, especially for ORR's child detention centers--not knowing where the kids were.

Hm, actually, #HR2415 specifies DHS facilities, not ORR facilities, so it wouldn't help there. In fact, it doesn't mention ORR at all in its requirements. 🤨

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Although, iirc, the main thrust of this was to get rid of child prisons, so...

Onward!

#HR2415 Sec3 H&I are about detainees &making sure DHS keeps good records of where & why they're being detained, if they're moved, where they were apprehended, if they were with family, etc.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Sec4 of #HR2415 gives the right to immigrants injured in detention facilities not up to standards described in Sec2, to file a claim in court to seek compensatory damages, which is nice.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Sec5 of #HR2415 is fun.

A. DHS would submit, at least 6mos in advance of entering into a contract to build more detention space, to House &Senate Judiciary &Homeland Security Coms, notice about what they wanted to build & why & for whom & how big & cost & construction timeline.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker DHS will absolutely LOVE that.

I seem to recall recently, them spending around $37 million on a few freaking tents. And barbed wire fences. Oh, and complaining about funding every gd day.

https://twitter.com/RachelMcGonagi1/status/1124527109496459265?s=20

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker #HR2415 cont'd

Sec5B(1)
Phasing out for profit immigrants prisons, y'all!

Within 3 years, all facilities detaining immigrants must be owned & operated by DHS, and to facilitate that, no new contracts with any outside companies are allowed from the moment the bill is made law.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Sec5B(2) of #HR2415 involves entities that provide non-residential detention-related activities for immigrants under DHS monitoring. Such entities must, by 3 years from date of signing, be non-profits or DH itself.

I imagine this would include ankle monitor devices and the like.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Sec6 of #HR2415 gives DHS the responsibility of getting people in their detention facilities to appointments in other court systems--like family court, etc.

Seems like a no brainer, but ICE detainees especially are notorious for never making it to trials where they're witnesses.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Sec 7 of #HR2415 is the last one and it's long. And, as I suspected, it deals with the question of child immigrants and why ORR detention centers are not mentioned: they would not exist under this bill.

Children would be considered "vulnerable persons" not subject to detention.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker So. Sec7 of #HR2415 is PROCEDURES FOR DETAINING ALIENS

Now remember, AG Barr just a couple weeks ago decided to detain ALL asylum seekers indefinitely, without even giving them the chance at a bond hearing, based on HIS reading of Sec236 of 8 USC 1226.

https://twitter.com/RachelMcGonagi1/status/1118343273083363328?s=20

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker The entirety of #HR2415 up to this point has been new stuff, but Sec7 is rewriting existing immigration law. Alas & woe, I am not going to do a side by side comparison of old and new. Just please believe me when I say this one is better.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Basically, the authors of #HR2415 want to chop out a bunch of the old law & insert language that not only allows bond for immigrants who would otherwise be detained by DHS, it almost requires it for everyone.

The sub heading is: Probable Cause & Custody Determination Hearings.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Imma skip down a few numbers to Sec7C(3) & (4) because they set up understanding for the rest.

The PRESUMPTION OF RELEASE is HUGE. Requiring the Secretary of DHS to give evidence rebutting why an immigrant should NOT be released is the exact opposite of how things work now.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker The LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS REQUIRED element is huge, too. Basically, #HR2415 says, if the immigration judge decides the person can't just be released, then they should still be given an alternative to detention: bond, non-residential detention program, etc.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker The exceptions to the "presumption of release" or "least restrictive conditions" elements in #HR2415 would be those immigrants who were evidentially a danger to the community, or who rilly rilly could not be counted on to show back up for court when required.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker In Sec7C(5) of #HR2415 we get to that "vulnerable persons" group I mentioned. The Special Rule for Vulnerable Persons & Primary Caregivers is that they can't be detained unless, in addition to (3) above, DHS PROVES they cannot be placed in a community-based supervision program.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker As to defining who exactly counts in #HR2415 as a "vulnerable person," well, there's a list. Includes children, the elderly, disabled, those with mental illness, LGBTQ folks, pregnant women, those who've experienced torture or traumatic violence, victims or witnesses of crimes.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Thus, under #HR2415, children AND their caregivers would be exempt from detention whilst awaiting their day in court.

Then, if you'll allow me to skip a bit more, Sec7E PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF CHILDREN, where DHS gets smacked for ever letting ICE detain kids ever. Bad ICE!

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker The rest of #HR2415 Sec7 is about time limits on when bond hearings have to be held, & if bond will be required, the immigrant's financial situation needs to be taken into consideration, and then a bunch of cleaning up various bids and pieces between old law & what would be new.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker I'm not altogether sure what the plan is for unaccompanied minor children who come to the border alone, as did 16 year old Juan de León Gutiérrez. They're usually placed with family eventually (used to be much faster system than it is now), but where do they stay in the meantime?

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Do they just immediately get sent on to family, like adults who come through CBP: get a notice to appear and a name & city you need to get to within 10 days?

What if the UAC has no relatives in-country? Unlikely, but possible.

These are the thoughts that keep me up at night.

@RepJayapal @RepAdamSmith @SenBooker @ImmJusticeNOW @ifindkarma @axidentaliberal @DemocracyStorm @Norberta36 @lfkraus @ImmFamTogether @immcouncil @TrinityResists @TrisResists @RAICESTEXAS @angelcanales @nissenson @MTGirl4Good @RepPeterDeFazio @Ilhan @RepCummings @RepJeffries @SusanBChurch11 @supportKIND @CoryBooker Overall, #HR2415 looks to be a darned sight more humane way for immigrants to be treated if they come to our border w/out documentation or are apprehended somewhere in the interior.

I agree with @HillaryClinton: call your Reps and tell them to support it!

🚨202-224-3121🚨