Reform & Alternatives to Detention

The vast majority of immigrants who come to the United States seeking asylum have no violent criminal history, but many—including women, families and unaccompanied children—end up in detention facilities where their basic rights are denied. Each day, more than 30,000 immigrants are detained in the United States.

The Women’s Refugee Commission promotes the use of alternatives to detention and advocates against the government’s current policy that makes detention mandatory for all arriving immigrants awaiting their asylum hearings or deportation. We also work to make sure that those immigrants who must be detained are held under humane conditions that meet international human rights standards.

Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched their reform efforts in 2009, the Women’s Refugee Commission has worked closely with the administration and partner nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service as an integral member of the ICE Advisory Group. This group meets with ICE leadership to develop new detention policies and to ensure reform continues to be implemented nationwide.

• Read more about our work on detention reform
• Learn about ICE’s policy on accessing detention facilities, for which our advocacy was crucial.
• Read about the provisions for unaccompanied children in the Violence Against Women Act