Should Federal Funding For Detention Centers Holding Unauthorized Immigrants Be Cut Off? (S. 3567)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is S. 3567?
(Updated July 25, 2020)
This bill — the No Internment Camps Act — would prohibit the use of government funds to build detention centers, whether they’re operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or a governmental or non-governmental contractor. It’d also establish a one-year phaseout of active family detention centers, of which there are three nationwide. Funds currently used to operate family detention centers would be transferred to the Alternatives to Detention program to reestablish the Family Case Management Program (FCMP) to be operated by a qualified nonprofit entity to operate. It’d also establish a $100 million annual fund for processing & releasing asylum-seeking families, which is described in greater detail below.
An “Emergency Fund for Asylum Seekers” would be established in the Treasury Dept. which would receive $100 million in funds in each of the fiscal years 2019 through 2024.
In years where the number of alien families seeking asylum in the U.S. exceeds 100 percent of the number from the previous year, $80 million from the Fund would be released to increase the Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ability to process, transport, parole, and release asylum-seeking families. Of the $80 million released from the Fund, no less than $20 million would be made available for grants to one or more nonprofit entities operating respite centers to aid asylum-seeking families with services and compliance with legal requirements.
In years where the number of asylum-seeking alien families exceeds the previous year’s number by 200 percent, an additional $20 million shall be made available from the Emergency Fund for Asylum Seekers/ Of the $20 million, at least $5 million shall be made available for grants to one or more nonprofit entities operating respite centers to assist alien families with services and compliance with legal requirements.
Argument in favor
The detention centers holding unauthorized immigrant families on the Southern border are reminiscent of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. This bill would end the morally catastrophic detention of families seeking asylum and a better life in the U.S.
Argument opposed
Detention centers are an unfortunate symptom of a broken immigration system, but they’re necessary to the enforcement of immigration laws. Simply releasing unauthorized immigrants or asylum-seekers who may never appear in court is unacceptable.
Impact
Asylum seekers; ICE; DHS; U.S. Treasury; Alternatives to Detention; Family Case Management Program (FCMP); and the Secretary of State.
Cost of S. 3567
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced this bill to stop President Trump’s internment camp agenda and prevent the Trump administration from forcing families fleeing persecution abroad into internment camps while they await asylum hearings:
“Internment camps have no place in the United States of America. We made this mistake during World War II, and to this day it remains one of the darkest stains upon our nation. We cannot allow ourselves to repeat this moral catastrophe. Congress needs to prevent this cruel and inhumane strategy from going forward—and I will do everything in my power to stop it.”
Karen Korematsu, daughter of Fred T. Korematsu, the lead plaintiff in Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court case that challenged Japanese internment during World War II, supports this bill and compares the current internment of asylum-seekers from Latin America with that of Japanese-Americans during WWII:
“After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, war hysteria and xenophobia won over what obviously was morally and constitutionally wrong when in 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which put families and individuals like my father, Fred Korematsu, into American incarceration camps. It is horrifying that our country is repeating those immoral acts and, as before, we are ripping children from their parents and guardians. The No Internment Camps Act seeks to remedy our past and current wrongs so hopefully we will Stop Repeating History.”
Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who led DHS from 2013 to 2017, argues that family detention is needed to help CBP end its catch-and-release policy at the southern border. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Johnson argued that family detention is necessary:
“Without a doubt the images and the reality from 2014, just like 2018, are not pretty and so we expanded family detention. We believed it was necessary at the time. I still believe it is necessary to maintain a certain capability for families. We can't have catch and release."
This bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee with the support of one cosponsor, who is also a Democrat, as well as the support of the Japanese American Citizens League, Human Rights Watch, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Anti-Defamation League, Human Rights First, and others.
Of Note: FCMP, which was disbanded by the Trump administration in June 2017, was a program that allowed families to wait for their asylum hearings in community-based settings. While in FCMP, families would have regular check-ins with caseworkers who spoke their native language. According to a 2017 DHS Office of Inspector General report, this program resulted in a 100% rate of families appearing for their asylum hearings. Program costs were low, at $5-7 a day per adult — many times lower than the cost of family detention, which costs $300 per person per day, and $775 per day for children separated from their parents.
Media:
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / Brad Greeff)The Latest
-
IT: Should the U.S. implement a tax on AI to fund worker benefits, and... 🔥Are you ready to take action against climate change?Welcome to Friday, March 29th, readers and observers... Should the U.S. government implement a new tax on AI to fund displaced read more...
-
🌎 Are You Ready To Take Action Against Climate Change?Scientists claim that last year "smashed" the record for the hottest year by a large margin , offering a "dramatic testimony" of read more... Environment
-
Should U.S. Implement a New Tax on AI to Fund Worker Benefits?The debate As technology advances, artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into our society. While leaders in AI read more... Artificial Intelligence
-
SCOTUS Hears Arguments of Abortion Pill Mifepristone CaseUpdated March 27, 2024, 12:30 p.m. EST On Tuesday, March 26, the Supreme Court heard arguments about the mifepristone case, read more... Women's Health