[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          LOCKING PEOPLE UP WITHOUT DUE PROCESS IS UN-AMERICAN

  (Ms. JAYAPAL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, this week, Congressman Adam Smith and I 
introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act. This legislation is 
critical to dismantle President Trump's mass deportation machine, to 
protect families, and to restore justice and due process to our broken 
immigration system.
  Our detention system brings huge profits for large private 
corporations. About 38,000 people are detained every single day at a 
cost to taxpayers of over $2 billion a year.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is about two things: dignity and justice for 
families, pregnant women, people with serious illnesses, survivors of 
torture and violence. It is unconscionable that we are detaining these 
people sometimes for months or even years.
  Congress can't afford to sit on the sidelines anymore. It is time to 
make clear that locking people up without due process is not only 
unconstitutional, it is un-American.
  At a time when net migration is zero, when DREAMers are at risk of 
losing their DACA status, and the world reels from unprecedented 
numbers of refugees fleeing for their lives, we must act with 
compassion.
  I urge my colleagues to pass the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, 
and I thank the over 55 cosponsors who have already come on to this 
piece of legislation.

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