Almost 200 migrant advocacy organizations have urged President Joe Biden to close immigration detention centers before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office and to grant humanitarian parole to certain migrants who are currently detained.
In a letter, the 198 organizations have asked Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to decrease the detention capacity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and shut down several ICE facilities.
The letter, sent on Friday, highlights “documented histories of inhumane and abusive conditions” at the detention facilities. These include allegations of physical abuse, insufficient food and water, negligent medical care, and unsanitary conditions.
Former and future President Trump has pledged to carry out mass deportations in his first 24 hours in office, which was a core component of his sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Trump-Vance transition team for comment via email.
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Newsweek has previously exposed a series of allegations of abuse, including mistreatment of detainees, inadequate medical care, unsanitary living conditions and instances of physical and verbal harassment at ICE detention facilities.
Advocacy groups want to stop ICE’s ability to expand its detention network by freezing all current contracts being negotiated with private prison corporations and other entities.
They are also advocating for “particularly vulnerable populations,” such as individuals with physical or mental health conditions, to qualify for humanitarian parole and be allowed to remain in the country while awaiting the outcomes of immigration court proceedings.
The letter is endorsed by several organizations, including Al Otro Lado, Alianza Americas, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Faith in Action, Freedom Network USA, the Hope Border Institute, Human Rights Watch, the Immigrant Defense Project, the Immigrant Justice Network, Immigration Hub, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, the National Immigration Justice Center, United We Dream and Witness at the Border.
The request by a collective of advocacy groups comes after Trump promised to carry out the “largest deportation” in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, the president-elect has backed calls for a national emergency plan as part of his mass deportation policy and pledged to deploy the military to enact his flagship policy, which helped to catapult him to the presidency.
Trump appointed a trio of hard-liners, namely Tom Homan as border czar, Kristi Noem as Secretary of Department of Homeland Security and Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Policy, in key roles that will shape the future of immigration policy.
Speaking previously on Trump’s mass deportation policy, Jeff Migliozzi, communications director at Freedom for Immigrants, told Newsweek: “We’re anticipating a large expansion of ICE detention.
“We will work to monitor abuses inside of detention, help people document those abuses, connect them with legal and other resources, and ultimately fight to get them released.
“We will support internal organizing efforts on the inside. We’re seeking to expand our hotline team to handle the influx in call volume, while also building out our organizing team, which is brand-new.”