UHND.com - Notre Dame Football, Basketball, & Recruiting

'Humanitarian' one...as evidenced by the following summary of actions...now show us all the efforts Trump is taking to do the same...

-------------------
AI Overview

The Obama administration, particularly in its first term, launched an effort to overhaul the immigration detention system, promising to shift it from a penal model to a more "civil" system. Key initiatives included creating new detention standards, improving medical care oversight, and expanding alternatives to detention. However, these reforms were heavily critiqued for failing to significantly improve conditions in many facilities and for later expanding family detention in response to the 2014 border crisis.

Here is what the Obama administration did to improve ICE detention conditions and protect immigrant health:

Detention System Reforms and Oversight

Establishment of the Office of Detention Oversight (ODO): In 2009, the administration established the ODO to independently inspect ICE facilities and investigate deaths in custody.

New Detention Standards: ICE released revised Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) in 2011 and 2012, aiming to improve medical care, mental health services, and access to legal counsel.

Consolidation of Facilities: The administration planned to consolidate detainees into a smaller number of facilities with better conditions, moving away from using local jails, which often had poor, jail-like environments.

Ending "Guaranteed Minimums" (Attempted): There were efforts to reduce the reliance on contract clauses that forced ICE to pay for a minimum number of beds, which incentivized over-detention.

Health and Medical Care Improvements

Improved Medical Care Standards: The 2011 PBNDS aimed to enhance on-site medical care, including better mental health screenings and services, and required more prompt emergency medical response.

Oversight of Medical Care: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was tasked with conducting periodic, in-depth inspections of both CBP and ICE facilities to ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

Addressing Vulnerable Populations: The administration took steps to improve, though controversially, the processing of families and children by opening specialized residential centers in 2014, aimed at being more child-appropriate than previous jail-like settings.

Alternatives to Detention (ATD)

Expansion of Case Management: The Obama administration increased the use of alternatives to detention programs, such as electronic monitoring (ankle bracelets) and case management, for individuals who were not deemed risks to public safety or national security.

Focus on Vulnerable Groups: These programs were often used for families and pregnant women, allowing them to remain in the community rather than in secure, prison-like, or family residential centers.

Shift in Enforcement Priorities

Limiting Workplace Raids: Early in the administration, large-scale, dramatic workplace raids were replaced with audits of employers, reducing the detention of "collateral" immigrants.

Prioritizing Serious Criminals: The administration issued guidance (such as the Morton Memos) instructing ICE to focus enforcement on individuals who posed threats to national security, public safety, or had serious criminal records, rather than low-level offenders.

Replacing Secure Communities: The controversial Secure Communities program, which often led to the detention and deportation of people for minor infractions, was replaced in 2014 with the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), which focused on higher-priority targets.

Contextual Note on Effectiveness: Despite these initiatives, reports from immigrant rights groups and the ACLU often found that conditions did not improve significantly in the first few years. Furthermore, the administration was heavily criticized for reinstituting and expanding large-scale family detention in 2014–2015 to deter Central American migrants, a move deemed a "dark mark" on its legacy by critics.
------------------