Immigration Detention

The Episcopal Church has long advocated for alternatives to detention, acknowledging that the United States’ current system of immigration detention – with its  documented abuses – can be, punitive and unjust. The Episcopal Church urges the government to “provide true community-based and community-supported alternatives to detention.” ,The federal government has been sued for its arbitrary detention of asylum seekers. The Church also “calls for accountability and oversight to ensure detainees are provided with humanitarian treatment, adequate food and medical care and sanitary conditions.” Further, the Church decries family detention and especially separation of children from their parents.

The government reports that alternatives to detention have increased, and we continue to advocate through the Office of Government Relations and the Episcopal Public Policy Network for policies that “will help reduce and eventually eliminate the need for detention and surveillance for virtually all migrants.”

ATD has been in place since 2004 and the number of participants has increased over time. Through the end of July 2022, approximately 4.5 million noncitizens were being overseen on ICE’s non-detained docket. Of those, more than 350,000 participated in the ATD program with absconder rates dropping dramatically over the past two years.