Washington, D.C. – Built to inflict pain and inherently rooted in white supremacy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its two main arms —Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)— have committed endless attacks against immigrant communities without consequence or accountability. Supported by a growing budget and politicians who turn a blind eye to the inhumane treatment of immigrants, these agencies have come up with everything they can to try to conceal evidence of their abuse against Black and brown immigrants and prevent them from achieving the justice they deserve.
Over the past several months, ICE and CBP have collectively tried to erase archives documenting its history of misconduct, deported immigrants and refugees who spoke out about medical abuse and mistreatment, and worked with a private consulting firm willing to strike information detailing ICE’s medical neglect.
Sanaa Abrar, Advocacy Director of United We Dream said:
“For years, ICE and CBP have tried to evade responsibility for harming our communities. As more news surfaces about the agencies’ attempts to hide the truth about their abuses against immigrants while silencing those who speak out, it’s imperative the House of Representatives take immediate steps to investigate all wrongdoing and prioritize listening to those directly impacted.
Our fight to hold each individual officer and agency accountable for the pain and trauma they’ve inflicted will only grow stronger as we push our demands under the Biden-Harris administration. While President-Elect Biden has made commitments for more transparency and accountability within these agencies, this is not a guarantee. Immigrant youth are fighting to ensure the Biden administration wastes no time in taking bold action to protect all immigrants, which includes enacting a moratorium on enforcement and deportations, releasing immigrants from ICE and CBP detention camps and their closure, allowing people the right to come home who have been deported, and defunding the agencies of ICE and CBP.”
