Open The Government Recommends Legislative Actions that Provide Critical Accountability for Controversial Immigration Programs
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s policy to separate families seeking protection at the southern border, followed by a rollback that would instead indefinitely detain parents and their children, has made clear that the immigration system lacks crucial transparency and accountability mechanisms. Any immigration reform legislation must include remedies to take our immigration system out of the shadows. Open The Government recommends a series of legislative actions today that would provide greater transparency and accountability for opaque immigration policies.
The practice of warehousing the children of asylum seekers exposed the secrecy that has long shielded the immigration detention system from public scrutiny. Even though the president has backed away from his family separation policy, indefinite “family detentions” planned under the new policy will still take place in privately run detention centers which must be transparent and accountable to the public.
“Why the secrecy on immigration enforcement if the government isn’t hiding something?” asked Lisa Rosenberg, Executive Director for Open The Government. “Congress has a constitutional duty to exercise oversight of the administration’s implementation of its immigration policies. Moreover, when the government deputizes private companies to act in its place, as it does when it gives contracts to companies to detain undocumented individuals, the public has the right to know how those companies are operating. Open The Government calls on lawmakers to take immediate legislative action to provide more transparency to the immigration process and protect against further erosion of accountability measures still in place.”
Open The Government’s policy recommendations include:
For a more comprehensive look, please check out full recommendations by Open The Government Policy Analyst Jesse Franzblau.
Open The Government is an inclusive, nonpartisan coalition that works to strengthen our democracy and empower the public by advancing policies that create a more open, accountable, and responsive government.