February 12, 2019 Sen. Richard Shelby US Senate Sen. Shelley
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 Tel: 212-290-4700 Fax: 212-736-1300; 917-591-3452 February 12, 2019
Sen. Richard Shelby Rep. David Price U S P R O G R A M US Senate US House of Representatives Nicole Austin-Hillery, Executive Director Sara Darehshori, Senior Counsel Dreisen Heath, Senior Coordinator Elizabeth Kennedy, Researcher Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Rep. Barbara Lee Rachel Kent, Press Officer Clara Long, Senior Researcher US Senate US House of Representatives Megan McLemore, Senior Researcher Grace Meng, Senior Researcher Alison Leal Parker, Managing-Director Laura Pitter, Senior National Security Counsel Sen. John Hoeven Rep. Henry Cuellar Thomas Rachko, Associate John Raphling, Senior Researcher US Senate US House of Representatives Brian Root, Quantitative Analyst Sarah St. Vincent, Researcher Jasmine L. Tyler, Advocacy Director Sen. Roy Blunt Rep. Pete Aguilar
Human Rights Watch US Senate US House of Representatives Kenneth Roth, Executive Director Michele Alexander, Deputy Executive Director, Development and Global Initiatives Sen. Patrick Leahy Rep. Kay Granger Iain Levine, Deputy Executive Director, Program Chuck Lustig, Deputy Executive Director, Operations US Senate US House of Representatives Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Deputy Executive Director, Advocacy
Emma Daly, Communications Director Sen. Dick Durbin Rep. Chuck Fleischmann Peggy Hicks, Global Advocacy Director Babatunde Olugboji, Deputy Program Director US Senate US House of Representatives Dinah PoKempner, General Counsel Tom Porteous, Deputy Program Director James Ross, Legal & Policy Director Joe Saunders, Deputy Program Director Sen. Jon Tester Rep. Tom Graves Frances Sinha, Human Resources Director US Senate US House of Representatives
Board of Directors Hassan Elmasry, Co-Chair Rep. Nita Lowey Rep. Steven Palazzo Joel Motley, Co-Chair Wendy Keys, Vice-Chair US House of Representatives US House of Representatives Susan Manilow, Vice-Chair Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber, Vice-Chair Sid Sheinberg, Vice-Chair Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard Rep. Steven Palazzo John J. Studzinski, Vice-Chair Michael G. Fisch, Treasurer US House of Representatives US House of Representative Bruce Rabb, Secretary Karen Ackman Jorge Castañeda Tony Elliott Michael E. Gellert Hina Jilani Re: Human Rights Watch research on immigration detention Betsy Karel Robert Kissane David Lakhdhir Dear Negotiators, Kimberly Marteau Emerson Oki Matsumoto Barry Meyer Joan R. Platt As you continue to debate immigration enforcement and border spending, Amy Rao Neil Rimer we write to urge you to consider two reasons, grounded in Human Rights Victoria Riskin Watch’s research, why Congress should reduce immigration detention bed Graham Robeson Shelley Rubin space and should certainly not appropriate additional dollars to increase Kevin P. Ryan Ambassador Robin Sanders bed space: Javier Solana Siri Stolt-Nielsen Darian W. Swig Makoto Takano • Every existing and additional immigration detention bed means one John R. Taylor Amy Towers more person at risk of suffering due to harsh conditions and inadequate Peter Visser medical care provided by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Marie Warburg Catherine Zennström agency.
• Congress should grapple with the reality that taxpayer dollars are already being spent under the current detention bed mandate to arrest and lock up people who call the United States home—including mothers, fathers, and spouses of US citizens; tax-paying employees; and respected
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community members. The overwhelming majority of people detained with “criminal” arrests or conviction records are people who committed minor infractions – including drug possession and traffic offenses – or who were criminalized for immigrating.
We look to Congress and this conference committee to use the conference report for the FY2019 DHS Appropriations bill to take steps toward reining in an agency that has operated in an abusive manner and with impunity. We urge all Members of Congress to continue to reject the President’s efforts to use the debate around immigration enforcement to fund his abusive and xenophobic policy proposals. We call on you to demonstrate bold leadership, reset the course toward good governance and accountability, and work to re-align DHS spending with human rights norms and our shared values of dignity, fairness, and common sense.
Sincerely,
Jasmine L. Tyler Advocacy Director US Program, Human Rights Watch HRW.org 202-294-8292
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