Immigration and Human Rights groups respond to DHS report
In response to the Department of Homeland Security’s release of “Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2012,” Silky Shah, Interim Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following statement:
“It is alarming to see that despite supposed support for immigration reform, the Obama administration has reached an all-time high of 477,532 immigrants detained in FY 2012 from October 1 2012 to September 30, 2013.
This confirms the President’s commitment to the mass incarceration of immigrants and blithe disregard for their human rights. It is an increase of 11 percent from the previous year and greatly contributes to the record deportation total under this administration. The blame cannot solely go to DHS and the Obama Administration. By supporting the arbitrary lock-up quota, Congress has mandated that 34,000 immigrants be detained daily. Meanwhile, detaining immigrants has become a billion-dollar industry for private prisons, which house 50 percent of those in custody. This flies counter to American values of due process and fairness.”
Statement from Arturo Carmona, Executive Director of Presente.org, the largest national Latino online advocacy organization in the country:
“DHS reports of continued record-breaking deportations by the Obama Administration come as no surprise to those of us who live and work in Latino communities where we hear daily stories of destroyed families, and cries of children whose hard-working parents have been ripped from their arms. Such continued disrespect of the Latino community raises the question, ‘How long will Latinos continue to consider and treat President Obama as a “friend,” when he destroys Latino families at a record-breaking pace? The DHS report runs polar opposite to opinion polls showing overwhelming Latino rejection of Obama’s current immigration policies.”