Congresswoman Gwen Moore Visits Midwest Regional Reception to Conduct Welfare Check on Constituents
Yesterday, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) visited the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, Kansas to conduct a welfare check on her constituents. At this facility, individuals detained have reported numerous instances of abuse and neglect.
Two of her constituents are detained here after being caught up in ICE’s reckless surge in Milwaukee earlier this summer. At that time, Congresswoman Gwen Moore held a press conference in Milwaukee condemning ICE’s reckless, escalating presence in Milwaukee and its excessive force on residents.
After her recent visit to the ICE facility in Kansas, she held a conference with immigration rights advocates from Milwaukee and Kansas to discuss what she saw and heard.
As part of her oversight responsibilities, Congresswoman Moore has traveled to ICE detention facilities across the nation to check on her constituents’ safety and well-being. She released the following statement:
“While I was relieved that my constituents are being treated with dignity and respect, I was puzzled as to why these women were detained in the first place. Then I learned about the massive profit machine driving detainments of individuals with no criminal records.
The Trump administration isn’t targeting violent criminals, but anyone they choose, while private companies are getting rich and taxpayers foot the bill. That’s why I will continue these important oversight responsibilities. I thank advocates from Milwaukee and Kansas for bringing my attention to this facility and my constituents who are being detained,” said Congresswoman Moore, (WI-04).
“We thank Congresswoman Moore for her leadership in protecting the rights of immigrants like her constituents, Estenderly Marte Polanco and Reyna Elizabeth Garcia, and for using congressional oversight to hold ICE and the Department of Homeland Security accountable. ICE is using excessive force, separating families, and spending billions of taxpayer dollars on immigration enforcement. The American people deserve to know how that money is being spent and how companies like CoreCivic are profiting from a system that harms immigrant families and communities. It was an honor to stand with Congresswoman Moore and community partners in Kansas and Missouri to demand the reunification of families, the closure of these modern-day concentration camps, and humane immigration reform,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director, Voces de la Frontera.
“As an immigrant myself, I was lucky enough to enter the United States over 40 years ago, as a white European, without having to go through the harrowing experience our immigrant neighbors of color are facing now. I am from Germany, and I am worried and horrified that my adopted country is going down the same slippery slope that my country of origin did in the 1930s and 40s. I would like to ask our elected officials to come and regularly visit their constituents in this ICE detention center, and ask them to call for the closure of this detention center,” said Angelika Schafer with Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR).
About the Facility
Last month, the Midwest Regional Reception Center, owned by CoreCivic, was sold to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for $238 million. CoreCivic reported $684 million in revenue in the spring quarter, a dramatic spike in revenue from last year. In an earnings call, the CEO of CoreCivic said that selling several of its detention facilities generated $1.6 billion, amounting to $307,000 per bed. During the press conference, Congresswoman Moore drew attention to how much profitability is motivating reckless ICE operations across the country.
Watch the full press conference here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore
