People in immigration detention deserve safety, dignity, and basic human rights. But right now, those rights are at greater risk than ever.

The Department of Homeland Security has cut hundreds of jobs from offices that existed to protect the civil rights of people in ICE custody. These were the teams that investigated complaints about abuse, helped detainees access medical care, and made sure children were not mistreated. They were often the only people detainees could turn to for help.

Now those workers are gone. And ICE detention is expanding.

Former oversight staff are warning the public that without these protections, more people will die in custody. Already this year, over a dozen people have died in ICE facilities. Thousands more are being held in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, with limited access to food or healthcare. Many of them don’t even know what rights they still have.

These watchdog offices were created by Congress for a reason. Removing them stripped away one of the only lines of defense detainees had.

This is not about politics, it's about protecting real people from abuse and neglect. We call on the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress to reinstate the oversight staff who were wrongfully cut and restore civil rights protections for all people in immigration detention.

Let the workers go back to doing the job they were hired to do: making sure our government treats every person with fairness and humanity.

Sign the petition if you believe in basic rights and human dignity for all.

Photo: CNN