HOLD DHS ACCOUNTABLE!

The Problem

The Constitution upholds the protection of civil liberties and human rights for all people in the U.S. However since 9/11, there has been a steady and alarming erosion of the human rights and civil liberties of many people living in the U.S, particularly immigrants. In response, the RWG launched the Hold DHS Accountable! campaign calling for an end to immigration enforcement policies that violate due process protections and other basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Issues

The DHS regularly conducts warrantless and aggressive raids on homes and workplaces to round up hundreds of immigrants, often sweeping up legal residents and citizens. Raid victims are often detained without access to counsel or a phone call to contact family members.

Individuals detained by DHS, including vulnerable populations like the elderly, infirm, refugees and children, are being held in inhumane and overcrowded conditions often without charges for months and even years.

The Solution

DHS Enforcement Practices

The Hold DHS Accountable! campaign is urging President Obama to place a moratorium on current immigration enforcement policies that deny due process in order to conduct a top to bottom review of these policies and programs. The goal is to establish enforceable standards that will ensure that U.S. immigration enforcement practices uphold the due process and human rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. In particular, the RWG is calling on DHS to:

• End immigration raids that lock up people without due process and
• Stop arbitrary imprisonment without trial, expand the use of safe, effective and cost efficient alternatives to detention, and create enforceable standards and independent oversight to ensure that detention conditions are humane.

Backlogs

The RWG members and allies played a critical role in pressuring DHS to process hundreds of thousands of citizenship applications delayed longer than six months by FBI name checks. These name checks appeared to be linked to the applicants' religion, race or country of origin and not due to evidence or suspicion of criminal activity. As a result of this advocacy, DHS and the FBI have eliminated the backlog of applications pending longer than six months. In a recent press statement, the FBI also committed that by June 2009, it would complete 98 percent of USCIS name check requests within 30 days and process the remaining two percent within three months. However, there is still a need to create efficient and transparent mechanisms to ensure that, in the future, all eligible immigrants can attain citizenship in a timely manner.

To ensure that our issues are heard, the Rights Working Group is working with Detention Watch Network in coordination with our Field Coordinator organizations to implement the Hold DHS Accountable! campaign. We are working collectively to incorporate local campaigns seeking direct outcomes for communities impacted by DHS violations into national advocacy efforts aimed at reforming bad laws and policies. Contact Pabitra Benjamin at pbenajmin@rightsworkinggroup.org or 202-296-2300 x 130 for more information.