Jayapal introduces bill for better conditions for immigrant detainees

Pramila Jayapal

A BILL TO REFORM the country's immigration detention system was introduced Oct. 16 in the House of Representatives. 

The measure, the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, was introduced by Reps. Pramila Jayapal. D-Wash., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., and is co-sponsored by more than three dozen other members of Congress. 

“This bill is incredibly important for (Asian Pacific Islander) immigrants,” Jayapal told NBC News. “Detention and deportation is sometimes classified as a Latino problem and it’s just a misconception because increasingly we see APIs being detained across the country from just about every community.”

RELATED: SCOTUS hears about prolonged detention for immigrants

The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would attempt to address standards and accountability for detention centers across the country, phase out private detention centers over a three-year period, have detention facilities be managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and reduce the number of people in detention centers, Jayapal said. 

More than three dozen civil society organizations have thrown their support behind the bill, including the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and Colectiva Legal del Pueblo. Staff from both organizations said they serve clients who have experienced “inhumane” treatment at immigration detention facilities, such as a lack of a means to express grievances and poor health care. 

“We think that this legislation is a good step in trying to address a number of these conditions within detention centers … and also in making sure that the U.S. government isn’t detaining people primarily because of past crimes that they already served their time for,” Katrina Dizon Mariategue, immigration policy manager at SEARAC, told NBC News. “We basically don’t think detention resources should be used on detaining people that are not a threat to their community, even if they do have a former criminal conviction.”

More than 16,000 Southeast Asian/Americans have been issued final orders of removal since 1998, but because of the relationship the United States has with Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, many are detained for long periods of time. Cambodia accepts a limited number of individuals per year; Vietnam only accepts deportees who came to the United States after 1995; Laos doesn't have a formal policy for accepting deportees. 

Victoria Mena, policy director at Colectiva Legal del Pueblo, a Washington state-based organization dedicated to migrant justice, said the group supports the measure because it would increase transparency, oversight, and accountability in the immigration detention system, which would benefit Latinos, who make up the majority of detainees.
_______________________________________________________________________________