By Gloria Ogbonna
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has introduced one of the most far-reaching immigration bills in recent years a proposal that would dramatically curtail the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ability to detain and remove illegal immigrants.
The legislation, titled the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, was announced in a press release alongside co-sponsor Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), and has quickly drawn national attention for its scale and implications.
Jayapal, herself an Indian-born immigrant and a leading progressive voice in Congress, revealed that the bill already boasts an unprecedented 123 original co-sponsors, making it one of the most heavily backed immigration reform measures within the Democratic caucus before formal introduction.
According to Jayapal, the bill aims to “overhaul the detention system” by sharply limiting DHS detention authority, expanding protections for migrants in custody, and imposing strict new federal standards on how immigration facilities operate.
If enacted, the legislation would:
• Repeal mandatory detention, eliminating existing requirements for DHS to hold certain categories of immigrants
• Ban the detention of families and children in any form of family detention
• Mandate a presumption of release for large groups of migrants, raising the legal threshold for detaining primary caregivers, pregnant women, individuals with mental illness or disabilities, victims of gender-based violence, LGBTQ migrants, asylum seekers, and anyone over age 60
• Phase out all private immigration detention centers and local jail contracts within three years
• Require DHS to adopt new civil detention standards, modeled after the American Bar Association’s guidelines
• Authorize unannounced DHS Inspector General inspections, with significant penalties for facilities failing to meet standards
• Require DHS to grant Members of Congress immediate access to detention facilities for surprise inspections
At her press conference, Jayapal framed the bill as a landmark human rights effort aimed at dramatically reducing the use of immigration detention.
“Our Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act has a remarkable, unprecedented 123 original co-sponsors — before we’ve even introduced it,” she said. “It drastically scales back the use of detention and ensures that every single immigrant in custody has their human and civil rights protected.”
However, the bill is already stirring fierce backlash, especially from conservatives who argue it would cripple DHS enforcement and effectively guarantee mass catch-and-release at a time of historic illegal immigration.
Jayapal’s long-standing criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has only heightened the controversy. As Breitbart News’s John Binder previously reported, Jayapal the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement has repeatedly labeled ICE a “terrorist force.”
Her rhetoric has been particularly scrutinized following a deadly attack on ICE’s Dallas facility, where a gunman with an anti-ICE “ideological motive” killed one detainee and wounded others. The FBI reported that the shooter had written “ANTI ICE” on a shell casing, drawing renewed attention to hostile narratives surrounding federal officers.
In July, Jayapal again described ICE as “a terrorist force,” prompting a swift rebuke from the White House, which called her a “deranged leftist.” Jayapal doubled down in a fundraising email and went on CNN to accuse ICE agents of “kidnapping” migrants accusations federal officials and law enforcement representatives strongly rejected.
Jayapal has also repeatedly urged the Trump administration to apologize for what she claims are unlawful detentions of American citizens, legal permanent residents, and immigrants with valid status.
Meanwhile, DHS officials under the Trump administration have painted a starkly different picture of enforcement priorities. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently announced that the administration is “breaking records,” with more than 527,000 illegal aliens deported so far.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the administration is on pace “to shatter historic records and deport nearly 600,000 illegal aliens” by the end of Trump’s first year back in office.
Jayapal’s bill stands in sharp contrast to these enforcement efforts and signals a deepening ideological divide in Congress over how immigration law should be administered. With support from over a hundred House Democrats and equally intense pushback from Republicans the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act is shaping up to be a central flashpoint in the national immigration debate.
Source Breitbart
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