Rights Groups Press Biden on Immigration Reform

Nearly 200 rights groups have urged the Biden administration to reduce immigration detention infrastructure and halt expansion efforts before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. These organizations emphasize ending the use of for-profit detention centers due to documented inhumane conditions, and they advocate for releasing more detained immigrants into communities while they await hearings. Additionally, there are calls for Biden to freeze all current ICE detention expansion contracts and to grant humanitarian parole to vulnerable detainees. The rights groups argue that current detention practices could facilitate Trump's plans for mass deportations, which include using military assets and targeting violent criminals initially. The advocacy groups argue that the Biden administration has a critical opportunity to uphold humane immigration policies and prevent family separations before Trump's potential policies are enacted.