Toolkit | Immigration Detention Oversight and Accountability
A Guide for Members of Congress Visiting ICE Jails Updated June 2025 Since President Trump returned to office, the federal
Confronting the immigration detention system
New NIJC litigation challenges a sham accountability process, misuse of funds, and egregiously neglectful conditions The United States immigration detention system is notorious for inhumane conditions, profiteering, and impunity for abuses.
NIJC Welcomes Biden’s Proposal to Shrink the ICE Detention System and Fund Lawyers, But Increased Spending on Home Confinement and Border Enforcement Means Tax Dollars Will Continue to Fund Injustice
Statement from Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, National Immigrant Justice Center CHICAGO (March 28, 2022) — The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) welcomes the Biden administration’s request to make a substantial investment in expanding access to counsel for immigrants and reduce the number of detention center beds funded to detain immigrants in fiscal year 2023.
NIJC Condemns Congress’ Plan to Continue Funding Immigrant Detention and Deportation System at Trump-Era Levels
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) condemns Congress’ newly released immigration-related spending plan for the current fiscal year, which continues the Trump-era approach to immigration enforcement and detention by keeping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) funding levels roughly equivalent to what they were before President Biden took office. “Congress’ failure to decrease bloated…
Immigrant Rights Organizations Call on Biden to Stop Expansion of Surveillance and End the Immigration Detention System as a Whole
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Axios reported that the Biden administration is planning an expanded home confinement and curfew pilot program for immigrants seeking asylum or other protection in the U.S. immigration courts.
Counties are improperly profiting off the detention of immigrants
McHenry and Kankakee Counties in Illinois openly admit to profiting off the detention of immigrants in a recent lawsuit challenging the Illinois Way Forward Act .
The Biden Administration is Expanding Private Immigration Detention
NIJC, DWN Condemn Broken Commitments to End Abusive For-Profit Incarceration The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and Detention Watch Network (DWN) condemn the Biden administration’s move this week to expand its use of private prisons for immigrant detention and demand that the president reverse course quickly to abide by his campaign promises to end the use of for-profit immigrant detention…
White Paper | Roadmap to Dismantle the U.S. Immigration Detention System
Despite the Biden administration’s substantial commitments to reduce the use of immigrant detention and address punishing conditions for people held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), its track record since inauguration has gone in the opposition direction.
Policy Brief | Cut the Contracts: It’s Time to End ICE’s Corrupt Detention Management System
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to grow its massive immigration detention system using a web of corrupt contracts
NIJC Calls on Biden Administration to Reimagine an Immigration System Grounded in Racial Equity and Compassion
Statement of National Immigrant Justice Center Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy CHICAGO (January 20, 2021) — President Joe Biden’s inauguration is an opportunity to re-imagine an immigration system that is just and humane, supports family unity and strong communities, and confronts the legacy of racism and xenophobia that have put Black and Brown immigrants at risk for too long.
Report | A Collaborative Response to Help Immigrant Chicagoans Secure Rights During Global Pandemic
Fourth Annual Report of the Legal Protection Fund In its fourth year, the Legal Protection Fund has helped thousands of Chicagoans withstand the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on immigrants, access necessary resources in the midst of a pandemic, and defend their rights.
Welcome and Compassion: NIJC’s Principles toward a Just Approach to Migration Policy
The National Immigrant Justice Center works to advance equal justice and human rights for all immigrants, and seeks to ensure their full participation in our plural, diverse society.