Urge Congress to Reform Immigrant Detention!

One of our nation’s greatest strengths is the wide diversity of its population, built on the arrival of immigrants of all social classes from every part of the globe. Those of us living in New Jersey can be especially proud of the wide array of cultures that have contributed to the development of our communities.

Unfortunately, this asset is undermined by a judicial system that places of the burden of proof on those accused of being illegal immigrants rather than on those accusing them. As Amnesty’s Jailed Without Justice report documents, legal residents and even U.S. citizens can be arrested and jailed on charges of immigration violations WITHOUT having the opportunity to go before a court and say, “on what grounds am I being held?” Furthermore, those arrested are almost always subject to mandatory detention, regardless of factors such as flight risk or danger to the community. This winds up costing taxpayers $95 per detainee per day! Since 1996, the number of individuals in immigrant detention has tripled! This problem is compounded by the inhumane treatment that many detainees receive, such as being housed with violent offenders and denied adequate medical care.

Congressmen Rush Holt and Donald Payne are already cosponsors of the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act (HR 1215), a bill that would correct this horrible situation. Please help convince the rest of our state’s representatives and our senators to join them. Activists across the country will be meeting their elected officials’ offices on this issue during the week of June 29th to July 5th. You can volunteer to organize a meeting or look for an existing meeting to join at http://www.amnestyusa.org/immigrant-detention/join-a-delegation/page.do?id=1011618.

Payne Becomes 2nd NJ Rep to Cosponsor Immigrant Detention Reform

Earlier this week, Congressman Donald Payne joined fellow NJ Representative Rush Holt in supporting HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act. This important legislation addresses the problems identified in Amnesty’s recent report, Jailed Without Justice.

As you know, the state of New Jersey is home to many immigrants and there families. All members of our congressional delegation should therefore join Holt and Payne in supporting legislation that will guarantee due process, ensure that detention is used only when necessary, and improve inhumane prison conditions!

Report from DC Lobbying!

Last weekend was the annual meeting for Legislative Coordinators at AI’s DC office. On Monday, I met with staff members from the offices of
· Rep. Chris Smith
· Rep. Rush Holt
· Rep. Albio Sires
· Rep. Leonard Lance
· Rep. Steve Rothman
· Rep. Bill Pascrell
· Rep. Donald Payne
· Sen. Frank Lautenberg
· Sen. Robert Menendez

One of the main issues I raised was the horrible state of immigrant detention documented in Amnesty’s Jailed without Justice report. We asked House members to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act to:
· Ensure that detainees can challenge the grounds for their detention (They may be legal residents or even citizens, for example.)
· Consider alternatives to detention before sending accused illegal immigrants to prison.
· Create enforceable standards to ensure the humane treatment of detainees, regardless of whether they are in federal, state, or local facilities.

I am happy to report that Congressman Holt had already cosponsored this important piece of legislation! Amnesty hopes that similar legislation will soon be introduced in the Senate.

I also followed up on the national in-district lobbying campaign to establish accountability on torture. I urged members of both chambers to:
· Support and independent commission to investigate the policies that led to torture and produce recommendations to prevent it from happening again.
· Call upon Attorney General Eric Holder to launch criminal investigations of torture and prosecutions and where there is sufficient evidence.
· Write to the President calling for an end to the abuse of “state secrets” arguments to refuse Freedom of Information requests. (We are particularly interested in the CIA Inspector General’s 2004 Report.)

Naturally, it would be great if you could follow up with a call to your Congressman, as well as Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez!