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ACLU Comment on Release of Sexual Abuse Regulations for Immigration Detention Facilities
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that it has finalized its Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Standards for immigration detention facilities. Today's standards are needed because though PREA became law over a decade ago, the Department of Justice issued a rule in 2012 that excluded immigration detention facilities from coverage under PREA.
Below is comment from Amy Fettig, ACLU senior staff counsel, on the issuance of today's rule:
WASHINGTON
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that it has finalized its Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Standards for immigration detention facilities. Today's standards are needed because though PREA became law over a decade ago, the Department of Justice issued a rule in 2012 that excluded immigration detention facilities from coverage under PREA.
Below is comment from Amy Fettig, ACLU senior staff counsel, on the issuance of today's rule:
"For the tens of thousands of immigrants held unnecessarily in detention every day, today's rule, though exceedingly late, is a hugely important development that will help ensure their safety and dignity. DHS must move swiftly to implement these standards in detention facilities nationwide, including in those that are privately run and the county jails that hold most immigrants in custody. We welcome the U.S. government finally coming to terms with the tragic history of sexual abuse in immigration detention and are encouraged that these standards will go a long way to addressing this problem."
The standards require that all DHS facilities and all contract facilities that hold immigration detainees comply with the PREA regulations. These regulations set forth a zero tolerance policy for any sexual abuse of immigration detainees; establish mandatory training for all staff; and require that every facility undergo at least one outside audit for PREA compliance every three years. Importantly, the DHS PREA regulations establish oversight and limitations on the use of isolation on vulnerable detainees and alleged victims of sexual abuse; prohibit cross-gender searches of women; and, of particular importance to transgender and intersex detainees, they prevent examination solely for the purpose of determining genital characteristics.
To view the standards, click below:
federalregister.gov/articles/2014/03/07/2014-04675/standards-to-prevent-detect-and-respond-to-sexual-abuse-and-assault-in-confinement-facilities
For more information on sexual assault in immigration detention visit:
aclu.org/sexual-abuse-immigration-detention
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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New College of Florida Students and Faculty Protest DeSantis' Right-Wing Assault on Education
"The long arc of history will grind you into dust," one critic told the school's board of trustees, "and you will be remembered for the sycophants that you are."
Feb 28, 2023
Roughly 300 students and faculty at the New College of Florida, along with their supporters, gathered before a board of trustees meeting on Tuesday to demonstrate against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' takeover of the small public liberal arts college and his broader attack on public education.
"In January, DeSantis replaced six of the 13 members on the college's board of trustees with conservative allies, including Christopher Rufo, who has fueled the fight against critical race theory," CNNreported Tuesday. "The new board forced out the college's president and appointed DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran as interim president. Corcoran will earn a base salary of $699,000."
Members of campus have expressed fears that recently appointed right-wing leaders will stamp out academic freedom and further marginalize students of color and LGBTQ+ students. They have not sat idly by amid DeSantis' assault, holding several protests since the far-right governor—and presumed 2024 presidential contender—restructured the board.
During Tuesday's protest, people chanted, "Defy DeSantis, defy fascism."
\u201c\u201cProfessors and students unite, we are going to win this fight\u201d\u201d— Zac Anderson (@Zac Anderson) 1677600987
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-47) observed that while affluent families may be able to afford out-of-state college tuition, "the rest of us are gonna be stuck with this bullshit."
"Please understand the economics of this," she continued. "We're already seeing the best and brightest faculty and students leave Florida."
Rev. John Dorhauer, leader of the church that helped found New College, meanwhile, condemned DeSantis' willingness to "sacrifice" the well-being of students "for his aspirations to serve as president of the United States whose right-wing, religious, and Republican wings are growing more fascist and more extreme every day."
\u201cPresident of church that helped found New College says he is morally outraged by what DeSantis is doing to the school\u201d— Zac Anderson (@Zac Anderson) 1677600987
Last Thursday, New College students joined thousands of their peers at universities and high schools across Florida for statewide walkouts and teach-ins—called "Stand for Freedom" and organized by the Florida College Democrats along with the Dream Defenders—to voice opposition to the GOP's onslaught of repressive and censorious education policies.
"A lot of us are hurting right now," Chai Leffler, a junior studying Chinese and urban studies at New College, told CNN on Tuesday.
The school in Sarasota has always encouraged "free academic thought," Leffler said, but now DeSantis and his Republican allies are attempting to dictate what can be taught and studied.
"I don't think politicians should really be the ones making that decision," Leffler added. "And I really don't think that's an unpopular opinion."
At Tuesday's rally, organizers planned to unveil a "student and faculty bill of rights" reaffirming the need for free critical inquiry that doesn't whitewash the injustices of the past or the inequalities of the present.
Last week's walkouts and this week's follow-up action at New College came after Florida Rep. Alex Andrade (R-2) unveiled House Bill 999, which threatens to turn many of DeSantis' reactionary ideas about public higher education into law.
The legislation, introduced last Tuesday, seeks to defund all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at state colleges and universities and eliminate majors and minors in critical race theory, gender studies, or "any derivative major or minor of these belief systems." If enacted, the bill would put boards of trustees in charge of all faculty hiring and allow them to review a professor's tenure "at any time," and it would also establish new general education requirements and impose other changes.
"House Bill 999 is indeed a focused continuation of DeSantis' assault against academic freedom," The New Republic's Prem Thakker wrote Friday. "But it is also a broader test: about how much power an aspirational fascist state executive can openly accumulate in America."
Ominously, Rufo—a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and one of the six members of New College's board of trustees recently hand-picked by DeSantis—has praised the bill, tweeting that it "would be the most ambitious reform to higher education in a half-century."
Dorhauer, for his part, told the board on Tuesday that "the long arc of history will grind you into dust and they [the students] will win this battle and you will be remembered for the sycophants that you are."
\u201cReverend John Dorhauer leads the church that helped found New College. He just told the board that \u201cthe long arc of history will grind you into dust and they (the students) will win this battle and you will be remembered for the sycophants that you are\u201d\u201d— Zac Anderson (@Zac Anderson) 1677611512
Progressive advocates have warned that if implemented, the DeSantis-backed changes could adversely affect the ability of Florida's higher education institutions to recruit faculty and retain students, with current or prospective graduate researchers potentially choosing to enroll in programs in states that value academic freedom.
“The consequences for students are enormous," Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, toldCNN earlier this month. "They are denied the opportunity to learn and grow, students are denied the opportunity to hear important perspectives. That's the real tragedy."
The Florida GOP's crusade against public school students and teachers is being waged at all levels, from kindergarten through graduate school.
Last March, DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, a K-12 measure that critics refer to as the "Don't Say Gay" Act, into law. Since then, more than three dozen copycat bills, some of them even more restrictive, have been introduced in 20 Republican-controlled states.
In addition, DeSantis rejected a new high school Advanced Placement African-American studies course last month, prompting a lawsuit from students.
Ahead of last Thursday's walkouts and teach-ins, Carlo Lopez, a junior at Plantation High School in Broward County, said, "I think this walkout is important because we are showing the world that we are not afraid of DeSantis, and we are very much against him."
"We are taking a stand against his racially motivated actions, showing that we will not continue to be silenced and allow our history to be censored right in front of us," Lopez added. "DeSantis is a racist who is putting considerable effort into suppressing the voices of minorities, the very people that helped shape the United States to be where it's at today."
Nailah Summers, co-executive director of the Dream Defenders, noted that "Ron DeSantis has been on a rampage."
"He's banning books and flags in classrooms everywhere. He's making sure our history isn't getting taught. He's getting rid of teachers, professors, and faculty that look like us and support us," Summers lamented. "He's made it harder to protest, harder to vote, and harder to live in Florida."
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a leading scholar of fascism, warned Sunday that if elected president, DeSantis would make life harder for the vast majority of people throughout the United States.
"Ron DeSantis will destroy our democracy with deadly precision," Ben-Ghiat tweeted alongside a video of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) endorsing him. "I cannot emphasize how dangerous he is."
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'Fantastic News for the Country!' Biden Nominates Julie Su for Labor Secretary
"She's really been a champion her entire career for all workers, regardless of immigration status, regardless of economic status," said one advocate.
Feb 28, 2023
Progressives on Tuesday applauded as U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Julie Su to succeed outgoing Labor Secretary Marty Walsh—a choice the nation's largest federation of unions said will "continue the Department of Labor's historic legacy of pro-union leadership."
"Julie Su is a leader who stands up for dignity, safety, and fair pay for all working families including immigrant and marginalized communities," continued the AFL-CIO, calling on the U.S. Senate to promptly confirm Su, who is currently Biden's deputy labor secretary.
The president noted that before working in the Biden administration, Su "led the largest state labor department in the nation" as California's labor commissioner from 2011-18.
In that role, Su oversaw "a renaissance in enforcement activity" against employers who violated labor laws, according to the U.S. Labor Department. She launched a historic, multilingual "Wage Theft Is a Crime" campaign, using multimedia to reach low-wage workers, inform them about their rights, and encourage them to feel safe speaking out against abuses of labor law.
"Julie Su is the real deal and she will do everything in her power to put working people central to the agenda."
Years before leading California's Labor Department, in the mid-1990s as a recent law school graduate, Su helped defend more than 70 Thai undocumented immigrants who had been enslaved in a garment sweatshop in El Monte, California. The case is widely studied in law school classes and by advocates and rights organizers, NBC News reported in 2021 when Su was nominated to serve as deputy labor secretary.
"What an inspiring pick," Helen Brosnan of the advocacy group Fight Corporate Monopolies tweeted, noting Su's anti-slavery case.
Biden said Su has proven herself to be "a champion for workers" as she has "cracked down on wage theft, fought to protect trafficked workers, increased the minimum wage, created good-paying, high-quality jobs, and established and enforced workplace safety standards."
The president selected Su after reportedly being urged by House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to nominate former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Sean Patrick Maloney, who was a member of the corporate-friendly New Democrat Coalition before losing his reelection campaign last year and who has been blamed for allowing the Democrats to lose control of the U.S. House.
"Great to hear that we won't see Sean Patrick Maloney return to power anytime soon," said organizer Joshua Sauberman.
A number of progressives strongly urgedBiden to nominate Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, to succeed Walsh, with Sen. Bernie Sanders(I-Vt.) telling the president in a letter that Nelson "has been a leading voice for worker rights and is a very strong communicator of progressive values."
Nelson has been a vocal critic of a widening gap between CEO and worker pay and was a key negotiator of provisions in the pandemic-era CARES Act, which temporarily banned airline stock buybacks and capped executive compensation.
Despite his support for Nelson, Sanders was one of the first lawmakers to respond to the news of Su's nomination, expressing confidence that she "will be an excellent secretary of labor."
\u201cI\u2019m confident Julie Su will be an excellent Secretary of Labor. I look forward to working with her to protect workers\u2019 rights and build the trade union movement in this country.\u201d— Bernie Sanders(@Bernie Sanders) 1677608523
Nelson also expressed strong support for Biden's choice, saying the nomination is "fantastic news for the country!"
\u201cFantastic news for the country! Julie Su is the real deal and she will do everything in her power to put working people central to the agenda! I am so proud of her work, her sisterhood and solidarity, her commitment to promote a labor movement for all working people! TY, @POTUS!\u201d— Sara Nelson(@Sara Nelson) 1677610265
Other labor advocates shared their hope that as secretary of labor, Su will push forward efforts to strengthen workers' rights in the fast-growing renewable energy sector.
"Renewables workers—and our planet—need someone like Su at the helm of the Department of Labor to push for and deliver on much-needed change. Right now, renewable energy jobs are scaling up across the country to meet the demand of the Inflation Reduction Act's unprecedented investment in clean energy," said Matthew Mayers, executive director of the Green Workers Alliance. "But the industry still relies on low-road subcontractors and temp agencies, who frequently short-change workers and promise jobs that never materialize."
"This industry—and many more across America—will need to fundamentally change," Mayers added. "Julie Su knows this from first-hand experience. She has been a fighter to win these changes, and we look forward to working with her as we demand more and better green jobs."
Immigrant rights groups have also pushed Biden to nominate Su, with the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) saying earlier this month that her "track record shows her commitment to protecting everyone's fundamental rights at work."
"She's really been a champion her entire career for all workers," Raha Wala of the NILC toldBloomberg Law Tuesday, "regardless of immigration status, regardless of economic status."
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Sanders, Democrats, and a Lone Republican Revive PRO Act to Strengthen Workers' Rights
"We need to hold CEOs accountable for flagrantly violating labor laws, illegally firing pro-union workers, and closing down pro-union shops."
Feb 28, 2023
Following a year in which strike activity surged and public approval of unions reached its highest point in nearly six decades, Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Democratic lawmakers and a lone Republican on Tuesday in reintroducing legislation that would strengthen workers' organizing rights and crack down on corporate union-busting.
Named after the late labor leader Richard Trumka, the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would, among other changes, give unions and employers the ability to override state-level "right to work" laws, enhance strike protections, ban anti-union "captive audience" meetings, and empower the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to impose monetary penalties on companies that violate workers' rights.
"At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when too many workers are falling further and further behind, we need to make it easier for workers to exercise their constitutional right to form a union and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions," said Sanders, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
"We need to hold CEOs accountable for flagrantly violating labor laws, illegally firing pro-union workers, and closing down pro-union shops," the Vermont senator continued. "If we are going to reverse the 40-year decline of the middle class, reduce the widening gap between the billionaire class and everyone else, and take on the unprecedented level of corporate greed in America, we have got to rebuild the trade union movement. That is what the PRO Act is all about and I am proud to be introducing this bill in the Senate."
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who led the bill's reintroduction in the House, said that "Congress has an urgent responsibility to ensure that workers can join a union and negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces."
"Passing the PRO Act is the most critical step we can take this Congress to achieve that goal," said Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee. "I urge my House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in advancing the most significant update for workers’ labor organizing rights in more than eight decades."
Even amid high public support for unions and successful organizing drives at Starbucks and other prominent companies across the nation, the percentage of U.S. wage and salary workers who were union members last year was just 10.1%—a historic low that experts attribute to inadequate labor protections and relentless union-busting by corporations.
"While unionization levels increased in 2022, the share of workers in a union decreased despite a substantial amount of union activity and extremely high union popularity, and that drop is part of a decades-long decline in unionization," Heidi Shierholz, Margaret Poydock, and Celine McNicholas of the Economic Policy Institute wrote earlier this year.
"The decline is occurring not because workers don't want unions, but because our current system of labor law is broken," they argued. "Recent worker organizing efforts send a clear message that workers want unions. We must therefore adopt policies that make it easier for workers to form unions. At the federal level, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act provides a comprehensive set of reforms that would strengthen private-sector workers’ right to form a union and engage in collective bargaining."
"With CEOs spending $340 million a year on union-busting tactics to intimidate and silence workers seeking to form unions, the deck has never been more stacked against workers speaking out."
The PRO Act passed the House in both 2020 and 2021 but never reached the floor for a vote in the Senate, where the legislative filibuster requires at least 60 votes to pass most bills. Last year, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Senate Republicans refused to back the bill, which is furiously opposed by corporate lobbying organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"The PRO Act is how we level the playing field," AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement Tuesday. "It is how we stop the intimidation, the lies. This is how we let workers, not wealthy corporations, decide for themselves if they want the power of a union."
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) was the only Republican to join Sanders and congressional Democrats in reintroducing the PRO Act, which received just five GOP yes votes—including Fitzpatrick's—when it passed in 2021. The bill's legislative hurdles are likely even steeper in the present with Republicans in control of the House.
Mark Zuckerman, president of The Century Foundation (TCF), nevertheless applauded lawmakers for reviving "one of the most ambitious and comprehensive attempts to fix our broken labor laws to date."
"Not only does the legislation ban the most commonly used union-busting techniques, it strengthens workers' fundamental right to strike and ensures that millions of workers currently excluded from labor law protections due to misclassification have an equal right to join a union," said Zuckerman. "Perhaps most importantly, the PRO Act would treat labor rights as civil rights—an idea that TCF has helped push into the mainstream for years."
The Worker Power Coalition, an alliance of national labor, climate, and progressive groups representing 24 million workers, also applauded the bill's reintroduction, calling the PRO Act "the best opportunity in generations to unrig our economy for working people."
"As
Starbucks and Amazon union campaigns have sparked a national wave of worker activism with new union elections up 58 percent in just the first half of 2022, there has never been a more urgent time to ensure workers have an even playing field by fixing our outdated, broken labor laws," the coalition said. "With CEOs spending $340 million a year on union-busting tactics to intimidate and silence workers seeking to form unions, the deck has never been more stacked against workers speaking out."
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