Seemingly lost in much of the congratulatory messaging surrounding the “Gang of 8″ immigration reform bill passing by a bipartisan vote of 13-5 from the Senate Judiciary Committee to the Senate floor is the continued emphasis, in both the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act and other policy actions, on immigrant detention and deportations. Yesterday, just one day after the bipartisan bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Budget which included increased funding for the Se Communities deportation program and additional beds in detention centers while cutting civil rights oversight. As reported by Your Houston News, Texas Rep. John Culberson included language that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to use all vacant public and private sector detention facilities to house undocumented immigrants, meaning more space for detentions.
