Immigrants Are Reportedly Being Held in ICE Jails Despite Agreeing to Leave US |
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Accusations that ICE is a giant ATM machine for private prison contractors have been a common critique of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. But a key congresswoman in the fight against the agency has taken the criticism a step further.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) says the push for profits within the mass deportation-industrial complex has put it at odds with the Trump administration’s goal of deporting millions of immigrants as quickly as possible.
For McIver, efforts to hold ICE accountable have become personal. She is facing up to 17 years in prison for making contact with an ICE agent outside the Delany Hall ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey. Federal prosecutors have charged her with three counts of forcibly interfering with a federal officer.
During an interview on Capitol Hill, the first-year lawmaker said she had spoken to multiple detainees at the Delany Hall facility who told her they had voluntarily agreed to leave the country, but were still being held in the US months afterward.
“When I go to Delaney Hall I speak to numerous detainees there. They tell me how they have signed a voluntary deportation agreement months ago and are literally still being held at the detention center,” she added.
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