Still No Accountability on the Anniversary of the Postville, Iowa Raid

CONTACT: Aadika Singh, Rights Working Group, 202-296-2300 Ext. 125

Washington, D.C., May 13, 2009 - The Rights Working Group marks the anniversary of the Postville, Iowa raid by expressing deep concern over the continued lack of accountability for due process and human rights violations caused by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s immigration enforcement policies. In May 2008, approximately 400 workers were arrested and detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. Raids like the ones in Postville deny fundamental rights that are a hallmark of the U.S. legal system.

"The Postville raid made a mockery of due process by denying adequate access to lawyers who could advise detainees of their legal rights; failing to ensure that detainees understood the charges against them; and then whisking detainees through a kangaroo court en masse for conviction and deportation," said Jumana Musa, Policy Director of the Rights Working Group. "The Supreme Court has since thrown out the spurious interpretation of criminal law that was used to obtain many of the convictions in Postville."

Just last month on April 30, DHS released new guidance for ICE agents engaging in worksite enforcement actions including raids. According to a factsheet released by DHS, future actions will focus on the "criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers." While it is important that DHS is reviewing its enforcement policies and adopting reforms, the guidance does not appear to restore due process protections and still allows for the detention of workers without probable cause or warrants.

"It is regrettable that the new guidelines were not made public to the extent possible. A DHS factsheet is not enough to gauge whether protections are now in place to ensure that people living in this country are provided due process protections in the legal system and that everyone's human rights are respected," said Margaret Huang, Executive Director of the Rights Working Group. "During his campaign, President Obama promised a top to bottom review of ICE policies-the April 30th guidance doesn't get us there. It is time to realign our federal policy with fundamental American values that ensure due process and fairness under the law," said Huang.

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Formed in the aftermath of 9/11, the Rights Working Group is a coalition of more than 260 community-based grassroots groups and national organizations working to restore civil liberties and human rights protections for all people living in the U.S. In 2008, the Rights Working Group launched a campaign to Hold the Department of Homeland Security Accountable! that calls on DHS to:

• End immigration raids that lock up people without due process,
• Stop inhumane detention conditions and arbitrary imprisonment without trials, and
• Create fair and efficient mechanisms for processing citizenship applications to prevent recurring massive naturalization backlogs.