Since late 2018, Georgia Detention Watch (GDW), Project South, and Freedom for Immigrants have urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to change the Robert A. Deyton Detention Center’s visitation policy to enable detained immigrants to receive visits from their loved ones.
In their first official letter to ICE, dated November 19, 2018, advocates outlined the ways in which current policy at Deyton is in direct violation of ICE’s own National Detention Standards (NDS). The letter went on to describe the ways in which current policy restricts visitation access and places an increased burden on incarcerated immigrants and their families.
Since the initial email to the Atlanta ICE field office and the national ICE offices, advocates have followed up with ICE at least four times; specifically on: November 27, 2018; December 3, 2018; December 5, 2018; and December 14, 2018. Still, there has been no response indicating any concrete solution to this issue. It has been 8 months since these concerns were first communicated and ICE has done nothing! On June 17, 2019, GDW and Project South again summarized these concerns in a final letter to ICE.
NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION!
Download the letters here:
Photo of empty visitation booths at Robert A. Deyton Detention Center in Lovejoy, GA.
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