Christian Advocacy Now

For January, we are encouraging folks to become informed about some of the challenges and even abuses refugees and immigrants face within U.S. detention centers, as they try to follow a legal process to become eligible for residence in the U.S.

Below is a link to information about this issue, a link to sign an online petition calling for reform of our process, and content to aid in constructing a letter to President Obama urging that he address these areas of concern. As always, thanks for doing what you CAN!

This link provides information about the inefficiencies and injustices of our current immigration detention system:
http://detentionwatchnetwork.org/aboutdetention

This link provides an immediate opportunity to respond through an online petition calling for reform of the current immigration detention system: http://detentionwatchnetwork.org/signon

Or for an even greater impact, please consider sending via regular mail, the following letter to President Obama at:

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC  20500

Dear President Obama:

I have recently become aware of many of the inefficiencies and injustices of our current immigration detention system. Some of these include the facts below:

Our government estimates it will hold over 440,000 people in immigration detention in
2009. The annual cost to the government will be over $1.7 billion.

Immigrants in detention include the sick and elderly, pregnant women, families, green card holders, and people escaping torture abroad. The average cost of detaining an immigrant is $99 per person/ per day. Alternatives to detention, which generally include a combination of reporting and electronic monitoring, are effective and significantly cheaper, with some programs costing as little as $12 per day. These alternatives to detention still yield an estimated 93% appearance rate before the immigration courts.

Torture survivors, victims of trafficking, and other vulnerable groups can be detained for months or even years, further aggravating their isolation, depression, and other mental health problems associated with their past trauma.

We realize that the processing of immigrants and refugees requires great care and diligence, especially in today's world climate.

However, as a country that values individual dignity and the protection of human rights, we have a clear responsibility to ensure these values are upheld within our borders.

I respectfully request that you use the power and privilege of your position to put an end to human rights abuses with our detention facilities, to ensure each individual is has access to legal counsel and a fair day in court, and to initiate more appropriate and cost-effective alternatives to arbitrary detention.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Yours respectfully,