Abuses

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

No Action Taken: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse

One of the most revealing findings of this report concerns the prevailing lack of action taken by CBP officials in response to the complaints received.

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All Abuses Content

  • Blog

Medical Neglect and Abuse Reported at Atlanta Immigration Detention Center

August 30, 2018

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently uses hundreds of detention centers throughout the country to hold individuals in immigration proceedings. Many of these facilities have a...

  • Blog

Asylum Seekers Challenge Spending Months Locked Up Without Interviews or Bond Hearings

August 24, 2018

Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy, aimed at punishing immigrants, including asylum seekers, who enter the United States without authorization. Among...

  • Blog

Government Coerced Parents into Signing Their Rights Away Before Being Reunited with Their Children

August 23, 2018

In all the chaos of family separation, another disturbing detail has come to light: immigration officials may have coerced vulnerable parents into signing away their right to be reunified with...

  • Blog

The Family Reunification Deadline Passed. What’s Next for Separated Families?

July 27, 2018

The court-imposed deadline of July 26 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite families separated at the southern border has passed. So far, over 1800 children have been released...

  • Blog

Government Uses Separated Children as Leverage to Coerce Parents Into Signing for Deportation

July 19, 2018

Among the many questions presented by the separation of immigrant families at the border is whether detained parents are being coerced into signing paperwork ensuring their deportation. Without...

  • Blog

Federal Investigation Finds ICE Fails to Address Sexual Assault, Abuse in Immigrant Detention Centers

July 10, 2018

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) consistently fails to conduct adequate inspections of its detention facilities or to follow up on recommended corrections at facilities that are...

  • Blog

The Trump Administration Is Choosing to Separate Children From Their Parents Every Day

June 19, 2018

Every day under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is choosing to separate children from their parents. Despite claims by the...

  • Blog

Trump’s Signature Family Separation Policy and Migrant Kid Jails Meet Outrage

June 18, 2018

The outcry against family separation has only just begun. The Trump administration’s cruel policy of separating migrant children from their parents when they cross the U.S.-Mexico border is...

  • Blog

As Ramadan Ends, Religious Rights Abuses Emerge at Immigrant Detention Center

June 14, 2018

The end of Ramadan 2018 is here, which is the holy month of fasting, contemplation, and prayer for Muslims worldwide. Yet, despite the First Amendment’s protection of the right to practice one’s...

  • Blog

Immigrants Are Dying in ICE Custody, So We’re Demanding an Investigation

June 4, 2018

The government has a longstanding history of failing to provide adequate medical and mental health care to immigrants detained in the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, CO. This...

  • Advocacy

Letter Demands Greater Transparency For Cameroonian Immigrants Held in Immigration Detention

July 21, 2020

The American Immigration Council signed on to a letter calling on Congress to demand greater transparency from Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding Cameroonian and other Black...

  • Advocacy

Letter Demands ICE Release Families Detained During COVID-19 Pandemic

July 17, 2020

The American Immigration Council joined a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security calling on the release of all families held at all three Immigration and Customs...

  • Blog

The Jail-to-Deportation Pipeline Turns Deadly for Immigrants in the Pandemic

July 16, 2020

Another man has died in immigration detention from COVID-19. His tragic and avoidable death marks the deadly end to a jail-to-deportation pipeline that disproportionately targets Black and Brown...

  • Blog

ICE Has Been Granted the Same Level of Secrecy as the FBI

July 14, 2020

In a blow to government transparency, the Trump administration has decided to designate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “security/sensitive agency.” The move further shields ICE from...

  • Litigation

Stopping ICE From Unlawfully Detaining Immigrant Youth

This lawsuit challenged ICE’s practice of transferring unaccompanied minors who turn 18 years old to adult custody in the agency’s contracted jails and prisons, without considering less restrictive placements.
  • Blog

Inspector General Report Overlooks Serious Medical Care Issues Within Border Patrol Custody

June 30, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a report analyzing U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) treatment of noncitizens at the border in...

  • Blog

ICE and CBP Agents Were Deployed at Black Lives Matter Protests

June 25, 2020

People have taken to the streets across the country to protest the murder of George Floyd, who died at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. This exercise of First Amendment rights has...

  • Blog

The Government Said It Wouldn’t Separate Families at Ports of Entry. It Was Lying.

June 10, 2020

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently condemned U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for its role in separating families at the border in 2018. Like previous inspections, the...

  • Legal Resources and Litigation

Council Files Civil Rights Complaint Over Dangerous ICE Detention Policies During Coronavirus Pandemic

May 7, 2020
The complaint calls on oversight agencies to demand immediate action by ICE to help stop the spread of the coronavirus where social distancing is not possible, including:
  • Blog

How Immigration Enforcement Is Eroding Your Privacy

March 13, 2020

The United States has pursued aggressive increases in immigration enforcement over the past two decades across several presidencies. Congress has allocated increasing resources during this period...

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