NEW YORK -- Immigrant advocates say President Joe Biden's executive order to end the use of private prisons is an important first step, but more needs to be done.

The executive order, issued during the first week of Biden's presidency, directs the Department of Justice not to renew its contracts with corporations operating the privately run prisons that house about 16% of the federal prison population.

Basma Eid, national programs manager for the group Freedom to Thrive, argued it does not apply to contracts under Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which held an average of 50,000 undocumented immigrants in detention every day in fiscal year 2019, 80% of them in privately owned or managed prisons.

"While this executive order does take a step toward abolishing the use of for-profit prisons, it really doesn't speak to the number of immigrants who are detained in these privately run facilities," Eid contended.

During his presidential campaign, Biden pledged to end the federal use of private prisons, including for the detention of undocumented immigrants.

The COVID pandemic added another layer of urgency to the need to end the mass detention of immigrants.

Eid pointed out infections are extremely difficult to control in congregate settings including in detention facilities.

"There's been numbers of outbreaks that have happened across the country," Eid observed. "And instead of releasing people and protecting them and letting them be home with their families and their communities, people are risking their lives every day inside."

In November, at least five people detained at a privately run ICE detention facility in New Jersey tested positive for COVID-19.

Eid noted the Obama administration had issued an executive order to curtail federal use of private prisons, but it also did not address immigration detentions and it was quickly overturned by the Trump administration.

"These executive orders can only last as long as that executive is in power, and so four years from now, depending on who is in the White House, can really dictate how impactful these orders really will be," Eid cautioned.

She concluded detention of undocumented immigrants can be ended by abolishing ICE and adopting comprehensive immigration reform including a pathway to citizenship.

New Mexico immigrant-based and immigrant-serving organizations are developing strategies to defend those workers and their families in the new year.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised the largest deportation of undocumented residents in U.S. history when he takes office in January.

Marcela Díaz, executive director of the advocacy group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said immigrant workers, entrepreneurs and consumers are essential to the state's economy. She hopes residents and state lawmakers will take a stand to protect them.

"Demand that our local and state policymakers don't use the money that we are generating for this state, against us by spending very limited public safety resources in helping the Trump administration enforce civil and federal immigration laws," Díaz urged.

Díaz pointed out the state has about 60,000 undocumented immigrants -- 10 % of the population -- who pay nearly $70 million annually in state and local taxes. They account for 13% of the workforce in some industries, including oil and gas. Advocacy groups want lawmakers to consider a bill to provide economic relief for families with children who lose income due to immigration enforcement.

Díaz believes lawmakers need to be proactive when they convene in January. She noted it became clear during the last Trump administration there were not enough experts in New Mexico, particularly in rural areas, to help those trying to obtain citizenship while caught in the deportation process.

"That's primarily because there aren't enough immigration attorneys or low-cost, no-cost legal services in the state of New Mexico," Díaz explained. "That's one of the big asks that we're going to make this year is, spend some of our money in helping us defend our families."

She acknowledged there are a lot of uncertainties about exactly what the Trump administration is going to do in 2025, but emphasized there is already a huge worker shortage in the state and deportations will make matters worse.


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The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas predicts if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his campaign promise of mass deportations, it would have serious negative effects on the state's economy.

The President-elect has said on "day one" of his new term in office, he will launch the largest deportation program in American history.

Sarah Everett, policy director with the ACLU of Arkansas, said industries such as Tyson Foods and many local farmers rely on the immigrant population to operate.

"We're certainly talking about a rise in grocery costs," said Everett. "And what we've seen in previous upticks in deportations has been inflation as well as higher labor costs - and when restaurants have to shut down because they can't find enough employees, the employees who aren't deported lose out, too."

She added that immigrants have protections under the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

The Migration Policy Institute estimates there are 58,000 undocumented people living in Arkansas.

The ACLU is advising people who are legal immigrants to have a plan in place in case they are detained.

Individuals are encouraged to carry their paperwork with them and have an established relationship with an immigration attorney.

Everett said now that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is suspended, many young people don't have any protection.

"When it comes to racial profiling, we want to hear from people if students' rights are affected," said Everett. "All students have a right to a public education regardless of their immigration status. And then, if people are being harassed or mistreated by law enforcement, we want to hear about that too."

She says the ACLU has also created a petition asking Congress to cut funding to the Department of Homeland Security to prevent soon-to-be President Trump from having access to the resources he needs to carry out mass deportation plans.

The petition is online at action.ACLU.org.





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Immigrants and the agencies that help them are preparing for what could happen when President-elect Donald Trump returns to office. In Wyoming, a "Know your Rights" training is being offered this weekend. Trump has said he'll take fast action when he steps into office to launch a "mass deportation program." There are limitations to the power and funding he has to immediately do so, but experts say they expect to see "significantly more" arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, during his presidency.

Antonio Serrano, advocacy director of ACLU of Wyoming, will host a workshop in Jackson this Saturday to help people understand their rights in case they do interact with immigration agents.

"Don't be like somebody who thinks, 'Well, this is never going to happen to me.' We just want to teach people their rights, so that way, we can hopefully make folks feel a little more empowered," he said.

Serrano added that the training will explain different kinds of warrants and address various scenarios including if ICE comes to a person's home or workplace, or stops someone while driving or walking.

Immigrants make up just over 3% of Wyoming's population, or about 19,000 people, according to the American Immigration Council. Serrano advises people to learn their rights in advance, so there's no need to try to understand them "in the moment." He hopes knowledge will help alleviate some fears.

"When you know that you have people in community who can stand with you, who can support you, who can have your back, it makes those things feel a little less scary," he continued.

Serrano noted there is also information on immigrant rights available on the ACLU website, including for students and families.


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