Democrats propose a moratorium on new immigration prisons

As the Trump administration tries to incarcerate more undocumented immigrants facing deportation, two Democrats are trying to get Congress to stop that momentum.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., are expected to file bills Tuesday that would place a moratorium on the construction or expansion of immigration detention facilities. The bill would also increase dedicate $45 million to improve federal oversight of those prisons, which have been accused of fostering dangerous conditions leading to the death of more than 170 inmates over the past 15 years.

Harris, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, blamed several presidential administrations for approving a never-ending expansion of publicly and privately run immigration prisons. From 1994 to 2018, the number of immigration beds nationwide has jumped from fewer than 7,000 to nearly 40,000.

Harris said that rapid expansion has left immigrants vulnerable to "inhumane" conditions that aren't being adequately monitored. Adding more bed space, she said, would only exacerbate the problem.

"It is unconscionable to subject detainees to inhumane conditions that include cases of unchecked sexual abuse, outright medical negligence, lack of access to counsel, and in some cases, even death," she said in a statement. "It’s time to end the expansion of these facilities that divert these resources to address true public safety threats."

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The bills face a long road in both chambers of Congress, where Republicans leaders have been hesitant to take up any kind of immigration bill that runs contrary to President Trump's efforts to clamp down on illegal immigration. Just last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., criticized an attempt by House Republicans to use a rare maneuver to force his chamber to vote on bills to protect young undocumented immigrants because Ryan said it would result in a veto from the White House.

The bills also would hamper efforts by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to force a wide variety of immigrants to stay in detention as they await hearings before an immigration judge.

The Department of Homeland Security last year put out a request for proposals to build new immigration prisons in Chicago, Detroit, St. Paul, Minn., Salt Lake City and south Texas. It requested $2.7 billion in the 2019 budget to increase immigration detention space. And Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen defended her agency's ability to care for inmates during a recent congressional hearing, calling medical services adequate for all inmates.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has tried to end so-called "catch and release" policies that allow immigration judges to release immigrants on bond as they wait for their day in court, a period that could take years given massive backlogs in the immigration court system.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement instituted a new policy to require more pregnant women to remain in immigration detention, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants to detain more foreigners applying for asylum. 

During a trip to the southwest border on May 7, Sessions pushed a "zero tolerance" policy that would lead to more criminal prosecutions of undocumented immigrants caught crossing the border. And he warned would-be border crossers that his department would separate them from their children as they face prosecution.

"If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you as required by law," Sessions said in San Diego. "If you help others to do so, that’s a felony, too. You’re going to jail."

Harris and Jayapal disagree with that approach, and their bills would curb those efforts dramatically. The proposals would halt all requests for prison construction or expansion. They would also require Homeland Security to cut its daily inmate population by 50% by using more supervised release and ankle monitors.

"Our bill demands a higher accountability of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and a stop to detention expansion because our nation doesn’t need more violence and further militarization — what we need is comprehensive and humane reform and real accountability," Jayapal said in a statement.

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