Nebraska’s progress in welcoming newcomers and treating immigrant families equitably has been frustrated by the thousands of non-citizens detained in county jails across the state for immigration law violations and facing deportation without legal representation. A significant number of these detainees have some legal claim to residing in the United States with their families, but have no legal representation and are forced into removal. In the last year, Nebraska Appleseed has become a member of the Midwest Human Rights Coalition, a regional effort to bring together advocacy groups and academics to identify and deal with human rights issues in our own backyards. In turn, Nebraska Appleseed has been instrumental in having this new coalition focus on the detention of thousands of immigrants in county jails pending deportation as a human rights issue. This follows Nebraska Appleseed’s previous efforts to build a pro bono representation project in the region, and the publication of a survey of each county jail detaining immigrants in our area. This “snapshot” confirmed there was little uniform process being used by county jail officials in handling immigration detainees and informing them of their rights, and that among counties, the respect paid to legal rights ranged greatly, creating even further barriers to the ability of these immigrants to remain with their families. The coalition coordinated summer interns in 2005 who worked with coalition partners on a regional detention mapping project, including in Nebraska, leading to even greater attention and reforms made to the plight of these forgotten immigrants.
Recommendations for Reforming our Immigration Detention System and Promoting Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings
A new report from The Constitution Project
In recent years, the United States has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of noncitizens held in immigration detention. This rapidly increasing population has drawn attention to the poor conditions of the nation’s immigration detention facilities and the barriers immigrant detainees face in seeking representation of counsel in removal proceedings. These problems raise a variety of constitutional and policy concerns.
This report examines expedited removal, mandatory pre-removal detention, and post-removal detention and suggests much-needed agency-level and congressional reforms.
Locked Up Far Away
A new report from Human Rights Watch
The Transfer of Immigrants to Remote Detention Centers in the United States
This 88-page report presents new data analyzed for Human Rights Watch by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University. The data show that 53 percent of the 1.4 million transfers have taken place since 2006, and most occur between state and local jails that contract with the agency, known as ICE, to provide detention bed space. The report's findings are based on the new data and interviews with officials, immigration lawyers, detainees, and their family members.
Asking state and local law enforcement to don a second hat as federal immigration officers has dangerous ramifications for public safety
“Forcing Our Blues Into Gray Areas: Local Police and Federal Immigration Enforcement” provides community advocates with legal and practical tips to protect public safety. It also describes troubling legal and political efforts to move into uncharted territory by involving local officers in federal immigration matters, breaking down a division that has been standard practice for many years.
These efforts are widely opposed by major law enforcement organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association. Dozens of major cities and groups from across the ideological spectrum – ranging from the National League of Cities to the ACLU to Americans for Tax Reform – also oppose these programs.
Detention in America series: Careless Detention | System of Neglect
As Tighter Immigration Policies Strain Federal Agencies, The Detainees in Their Care Often Pay a Heavy Cost
In this series of articles, Washington Post reporters Dana Priest (Walter Reed Army Medical Center report) and Amy Goldstein examine the treatment of detainees as well as the alarming number of detainee deaths in ICE detention centers.
Know Your Rights During Immigration Enforcement Or Raids
Know Your Rights/Conozca Sus Derechos Wallet Card 
English-Español (UFCW)
Know Your Rights at Home, in the Car, and on Foot. English | Español (ACLU)
Know Your Rights at Home and at Work English | Español
(Ejecución de las Leyes de Inmigración: Conozca sus derechos en su hogar y su trabajo respecto a Inmigración) (National Immigration Law Center)
Know Your Rights if You Have Been Arrested or Detained by the U.S. Government English | Español
(CASA of Maryland)
RESOURCES FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
- Principles for CIR (FIRM) - English | Español
- Principles for CIR (CCIR) – English | Español
- STRIVE Act: the good & bad – English | Español
- STRIVE Act: common questions – English | Español
- Hagel Proposal 2007
- White House plan analysis (FIRM) – English | Español
- Polling Summary (NIF)
- Polling Presentation
Report says raids led to higher pay at packing plants
Darcy Tromanhauser