Commentary: As a caravan of thousands of people seeking asylum approaches the United States, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is preparing to make a move that would allow him to keep any asylum seeker detained indefinitely. On Monday, October 29th, immigrant rights advocates and community organizations around the country, including in El Paso, will file a “People’s Amicus Brief” to condemn Jeff Sessions’ latest power grab to further constrict the power of judges to make decisions on whether immigrants should remain in immigration detention centers or be allowed to have a hearing to pay bond.
“The actions of Jeff Sessions are an example of this administration’s racist and anti-immigrant agenda,” said Lulú Ortiz an organizer with the Fronterizo Fianza Fund. “This decision would take away any opportunity for people to go before an immigration judge to present their case for bond, thus leaving the decision solely up to ICE agents, who have become President Trump’s national police force. This will lead to a massive increase in the number of people held in immigration detention, including those held indefinitely.”
In early September, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he would overturn a precedent by the Board of Immigration Appeals in the decision known as “Matter of X-K,” which held that immigration judges have the power to release certain migrants on bond at a hearing. The last day to submit comments through amicus briefs is on November 9. The “People’s Amicus Brief” describes why they oppose the Attorney General’s latest power grab, including that leaving the decision up to ICE agents is particularly worrisome.
“Sessions’s decision to prevent most detained people from seeking release under a bond threatens the Fronterizo Fianza Fund’s ability to help people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay for their freedom,” Ortiz said. The Fianza Fund has posted over $150,000 in immigration bonds in 2018, helping over 40 people win release from El Paso-area detention centers. “Asylum seekers who leave detention are far more likely to find adequate services and ultimately win asylum, so taking away one of their only avenues to win release is a truly cruel attack on this vulnerable population.”
ICE has been documented as being responsible for fatal medical neglect, collusion with private prison companies, lack of transparency and accountability, and a culture of violence. Most recently, the agency missed its first three deadlines for reporting to Congress about what detention facilities it uses to hold immigrants, only to finally release a list riddled with error and deception.
Immigration advocates with the Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee have underscored how the asylum process is already failing people looking for safety and protection. This decision will only make it harder for people and their loved ones to access critical legal services, a struggle faced by the majority of 44,000 people incarcerated daily in immigration detention.
“Sessions, along with President Trump, are moving forward policies towards the degradation of democratic values, our civil rights, and judicial process in this country” said Jennifer Apodaca of the Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee. “We know this decision will be leveraged as a sinister justification to expand immigration detention and the prison industrial complex, while keeping more of our community in jail. We are ready to expose this abuse and fight against it at every turn.”
The amicus brief was filed on October 29th, 2018, and included 50 organizations around the country, including national support from Mijente, Detention Watch Network, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the National Bail Fund Network.