McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) -- Nearly 200 migrant advocacy groups have asked President Joe Biden to dismantle U.S. immigration detention facilities before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and to give humanitarian parole to some migrants currently detained.
In a letter, the 198 organizations are asking that Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reduce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention capacity and close several ICE facilities.
They cite "documented histories of inhumane and abusive conditions," at the detention facilities, according to the letter sent Friday. This includes allegations of physical abuse, inadequate food and water and negligent medical care and unsanitary conditions.
Specifically, they want to halt ICE's ability to expand its detention network by freezing all current contracts that are being negotiated with private prison corporations and other entities.
They are also asking that "particularly vulnerable populations" -- including those with physical and mental health conditions -- be eligible for humanitarian parole, and released in the country while they await their immigration court outcomes.
"Now is the time to take decisive action to prevent catastrophe for millions of people and avoid handing the keys to an expanded and inhumane detention and deportation system to the next president," the letter spearheaded by the nonprofit Detention Watch Network says.
The requests come as Trump has promised to carry out the largest mass deportation of undocumented migrants once he takes office. He also has pledged to expand immigration detention facilities in order to hold migrants who cross the border and are captured, as well as those apprehended in the interior of the country, prior to their removals.
On Monday, Trump indicated on social media that he plans to use the U.S. military in his deportation plans and will declare an immigration national emergency to support his mass deportation pledge.
“Trump continues promoting anti-immigration hate and is using it as an excuse to appropriate the military for domestic law enforcement and circumvent normal checks and balances on presidential power," Vanessa Cárdenas of America's Voice said Monday in a statement.
In the few weeks before Trump takes office, migrant advocacy groups are asking Biden to do everything within his power to extend benefits for certain groups of immigrants -- like Temporary Protected Status (TPS,) which could be in place for 18 months
“To protect families and prevent separations, you must take all possible action to prevent the incoming administration from being able to easily expand detention capacity, including by pressuring Congress to pass a reduced appropriation for immigration detention," the letter says.
Groups signing on to the letter include: Al Otro Lado, Alianza Americas, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Faith in Action, Freedom Network USA, Hope Border Institute, Human Rights Watch, Immigrant Defense Project, Immigrant Justice Network, Immigration Hub, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, National Immigration Justice Center, United We Dream, and Witness at the Border.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].