Nearly 10 years ago, Congress passed, in a bipartisan vote, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). This was the first legislation to call for a zero-tolerance approach to sexual assault and rape in any kind of confinement throughout the United States. Immigration detention and juvenile custody were expressly included in the recommendations that were subsequently issued by the Prison Rape Elimination Commission.
Last week the Justice Department issued its long-awaited regulations in regard to PREA. And although these particular regulations will not apply to immigrants held under the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House issued a memorandum on the same day calling for any federal agency with jurisdiction over confinement facilities to work with the Justice Department to develop their own regulations in compliance with PREA.
Read the entire blog in the Impact section of the Huffington Post website.