Congresswoman Luz Rivas Introduces Immigration Bill After Constituent Transferred from Adelanto to Arizona Detention Facility Without Family Notification
LOS ANGELES — Today, Congresswoman Luz Rivas (CA-29) introduced the Immigration Notification for Facility Oversight and Relocation Management (INFORM) Act to require Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to notify detainees’ immediate family when transferred between detention facilities. Congresswoman Rivas introduced the INFORM Act after Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz, a Reseda High School senior, was moved from the Adelanto Detention Facility to a holding facility across state lines in Arizona on August 26 – without ICE notifying his family.
“I dropped everything and rushed to the Adelanto Detention Center to demand answers from ICE after my office received word that ICE transferred Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz from Adelanto to a holding facility in Arizona without notifying his family,” said Congresswoman Rivas.“Benjamin’s family deserves to know when he is transferred and why ICE would move a high school student to the middle of a desert in Arizona.”
Congresswoman Rivas continued: “I am introducing the INFORM Act to bring transparency to ICE and fight for the rights and dignity of detainees. It does not matter if ICE is transferring individuals across the city or across the country, their families deserve to know and should be immediately notified by ICE of any transfer. My bill respects the dignity of immigrant families and promotes government transparency.
“Benjamin’s story of being detained and sent across state lines without warning or notification is like many other detainees in Los Angeles and across the country. No family should have to experience the nightmare the Trump Administration is subjecting Benjamin and his family to – but that is a reality that too many families are living through each day. Many immigrant families in my district do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones after they are detained by ICE. I have been urging ICE leadership to answer for their chaotic, inconsistent, and cruel decision-making processes that have torn apart families across the country.
“I will keep showing up to detention facilities to continue demanding answers from ICE that my constituents deserve to know.”
Background:
On August 26, Congresswoman Luz Rivas conducted an unannounced visit to Adelanto Detention Facility to conduct oversight of the facility and perform a wellness check on constituents who are currently being detained at the facility. This visit comes in response to information that Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz was transferred across state lines to a detention facility in Arizona without notifying his immediate family.
ICE officials at the Adelanto Detention Facility broke the law and did not allow Congresswoman Rivas inside to conduct her oversight duties, as mandated by law. This is Congresswoman Rivas’ third oversight visit to detention facilities.
The INFORM Act will require that, within 24 hours, ICE must notify the immediate family member of a detainee if the detainee is transferred to another detention center. Current law, rules, and regulations do not require ICE to notify family members when a detainee is transferred. The only instance ICE notifies the family is in the case of death.
Congresswoman Rivas sent multiple letters to ICE demanding transparency and accountability. On June 18, after Congresswoman Rivas conducted oversight at the Adelanto Detention Center, she sent a letter to ICE demanding an explanation on the decision-making process and criteria related to transferring detainees. ICE has ignored this inquiry.
On August 8, Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz, a senior at Reseda High School, was detained while walking his dog in Van Nuys. He was held at the Los Angeles Detention Center and the Adelanto Detention Center before being transferred to a detention center in Arizona on August 26. ICE did not notify Benjamin’s family of his transfer.
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