Today, Representative Rob Menendez (NJ-08) announced his co-sponsorship of the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, which is led by Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07). The legislation would prevent inhumane and cruel conditions for migrants at detention centers and includes significant changes to the current detention system that would keep many migrants out of detention and ensure fair and decent treatment for those who remain detained.
“I am proud to support the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, which will phase out the use of private migrant detention centers and hold currently open facilities accountable for unsafe conditions,” said Congressman Rob Menendez (NJ-08). “I have long advocated for the closure of for-profit detention centers, including Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. Unfortunately, instead of working to improve conditions, the Trump Administration has chosen to illegally block Members of Congress from conducting oversight visits. I will always continue this fight for dignity, accountability, and the ultimate closure of these detention centers through this legislation.”
“Under the Trump Administration, we have seen a shocking surge in the detention of people who have committed no crimes being locked up in increasingly horrifying conditions,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07). “People are being held in squalor, largely in private, for-profit detention facilities, all to pad the bottom lines of prison corporations that donate to Donald Trump and Republicans. As Trump has struck down legal pathways and made it nearly impossible to come to or stay in this country, even for those who have been here for decades, this will only continue to get worse. We must pass this legislation to protect dignity and civil rights in America.”
The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would transform the treatment of migrants by the federal government through key reforms including:
- Repealing mandatory detention;
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Prohibiting the detention of families and children in family detention;
Phasing out the use of private detention facilities and jails over a three-year period; -
Require DHS to admit Members of Congress to detention facilities for unannounced inspections;
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Creating a presumption of release and impose a higher burden of proof to detain primary caregivers and vulnerable populations, including asylum seekers, pregnant women, LGBTQ individuals, survivors of torture or gender-based violence, and people under age 21;
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Requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish civil detention standards that provide, at minimum, the level of protection in the American Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards; and
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Mandating the Inspector General of DHS to conduct unannounced inspections with meaningful penalties for failure to comply with standards.
Congressman Rob Menendez has been a leader in the House of Representatives on oversight of immigrant detention centers, and earlier this year was present at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark with Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) that resulted in national attention to the issue. Congressman Rob Menendez has worked to ban private immigrant detention centers and fought the Trump Administration’s illegal restrictions on oversight of detention centers. He has also conducted several unannounced visits of detention centers including Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center and has long advocated for the humane and dignified treatment of migrant detainees.
Congressman Rob Menendez has proudly represented New Jersey’s Eighth Congressional District since 2023. He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is Vice Chair of Policy for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
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