For Immediate Release Friday, September 15, 2023 Contact: Jenny Garcia, Detention Watch Network, [email protected] Washington, DC — Today, advocates gathered in 15+ cities, including in Washington, DC as part of a national day of action demanding the Biden administration shut down all detention centers, release all people in detention, and end deportations. Partners in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region used this opportunity to call on President Biden to shut down the ICA operated Farmville detention center, one of two remaining detention centers in Virginia, whose contract was set to expire on the same day. Continue reading

As part of the settlement in Sierra Club v. Biden (formerly Sierra Club v. Trump), the U.S. government agrees to halt further wall construction and mitigate environmental damage in the sites illegally funded by the Trump administration using stolen Defense Department funding. OAKLAND, Calif. — Under a legal settlement filed in federal court today, the Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Sierra Club, ACLU of Texas, and ACLU of Northern California, have successfully settled two long-running lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s illegal transfer of military construction and Treasury Department forfeiture funds to build sections of the U.S.-Mexico border wall that Congress explicitly refused to fund.  Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — Today, the U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at the University of California San Diego released a new report, Lives in Danger: Seeking Asylum Against the Backdrop of Increased Border Enforcement. The report details the results of a survey of migrants held by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in open-air detention sites for up to five days in Jacumba, California.  Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — After witnessing egregious human rights violations, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) has filed a damning complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). The complaint alleges that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is detaining migrants in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions in an open-air corridor in California.  Continue reading

Southern Border — The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) is alerting the public to egregious human rights violations by U.S. border agents. Currently, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are holding hundreds of migrants in deplorable conditions on U.S. soil between layers of the border wall in San Diego, California near the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The U.S. border wall with Mexico in San Diego is composed of two layers, a primary and secondary border wall. Both the primary and secondary border walls, and the areas in between them, are part of the United States. The migrants in that corridor are in CBP custody. Continue reading

Southern Border — In the midst of government actions that dehumanize migrants and violate international treaty obligations, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) calls on all parts of the government to start with dignity in the treatment of migrants. Rather than humanize migrants, government officials are penalizing them for asserting their inalienable (human) rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s time for a reset on border policy. It’s time to refocus on human dignity.  Continue reading

Southern Border — Today, SBCC sent a letter to Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Paul marking the one year since Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the agency would eliminate Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs), which the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) exposed as the largest and longest standing cover up units in the federal government. Despite the announced elimination, which went into effect in October 2022, investigations of excessive force continue to be compromised. The public deserves to know if CBP, the largest law enforcement agency in the country, is enabling more cover ups and undermining the integrity of an agency that has yet to earn the trust of U.S. voters. Continue reading

Contacts:  Jeff Migliozzi, [email protected]  Jenny Garcia, [email protected] Bruna Sollod, [email protected]  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration is proposing almost $25 billion dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in its FY2024 budget proposal, an increase of $800 million over the enacted 2023 budget. The proposal includes a new $4.7 billion “contingency fund” for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for an additional 350 Border Patrol Agents, and $535 million for border security technologies. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER - This week, Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas announced updates to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Use of Force Policy. The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) commends Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden Administration for their efforts to respond to the national outcry for use-of-force policy reform and improved accountability mechanisms. While the new policy is a step in the right direction, it falls short of meeting international human rights standards and does not do enough to protect human life, putting communities across the country and in the border region at risk.  Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER, Nov. 2, 2022 — Today, on Día de los Muertos, the Southern Border Communities Coalition is calling on the Biden administration and Congress to end policies that harden the U.S.-Mexico border and force an increasing number of people seeking safety to their deaths.  Continue reading