Florida lawmaker's bill would force ICE to share info on where people are being detained and why

U.S. Rep. demands accountability from ICE

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost hosted a press conference alongside immigration advocacy groups to announce new legislation aimed at strengthening public accountability in ICE detention facilities and protecting due process rights for all. Frost said his "Stop Unlawful Detention and End Mistreatment (SUDEM) Act" would pull back the curtain on immigration detention by requiring all ICE-operated and ICE-affiliated facilities to be held accountable for their processes and actions."

ORLANDO, Fla. - Congressman Maxwell Frost has announced new legislation that would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to share information on where and why people are being detained, among other details.

What is the SUDEM Act?

What we know:

Frost announced the new legislation aimed at strengthening public accountability in ICE detention facilities and protecting due process rights for all at a news conference on Wednesday in Orlando.

Frost's act comes as immigration enforcement policies impact immigrant families and even U.S. citizens across Central Florida and the country.

Frost says ICE detention centers are riddled with "secrecy, abuse and due process violations." He says his "Stop Unlawful Detention and End Mistreatment (SUDEM) Act" would pull back the curtain on immigration detention by requiring all ICE-operated and ICE-affiliated facilities to be held accountable for their processes and actions. The act would require the facilities to pubically report who is being detained, where they're being detained, when they've been detained and why.

Frost said he knows the bill won't fix the problem, but he hopes to provide tools to the community and local families so that they can know what's going on with their loved ones.

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost announced the new legislation at a news conference on June 18 in Orlando.

‘Their dignity is being stripped away’

What they're saying:

Frost was joined at the news conference by several notable advocacy groups, including the Hispanic Federation Florida, the League of United Latin American Citizens and Immigrants are Welcome Here.

Frost said the groups are "fighting to hold Donald Trump, his administration and this state accountable for a taxpayer-funded kidnapping program trafficking our people across the entire world that they're running under the disguise of an immigration system."

"Here in Central Florida and across the country, we've watched as Trump's agents abuse the rule of law, completely skirt over due process and target non-violent and working people," Frost said. "We're talking about mothers, fathers, grandparents, taxpayers, even folks showing up for their immigration hearings. Plain-clothes federal agents are snatching people off of the street, wearing masks and terrorizing our communities."

Frost said U.S. citizens are also being wrongfully detained under Florida's extreme immigration enforcement policies.

"Basic dignity is being stripped away," Frost said. "Being undocumented in this country is not a crime. No human deserves to be caged, brutalized or disappeared for it. No one is safe in this country."

Frost said people are being held in detention centers described as being "hell on Earth," where food, water, bathrooms, beds and medicines are sometimes withheld.

"It's a culture of fear and chaos," Frost said. "We are an immigrant-filled community. We are a community filled with people. And yes, people are going to have different statuses, and to my Republican colleagues that say, "I don't want any undocumented people in this country,' I actually agree with you. So, let's document every single one of them with a speedy path to citizenship. That's how we fix this problem."

Officials, Apopka family torn apart by deportation speak

An Apopka family has been torn apart by deportation. Esvin Juarez, a small business owner and father of four U.S.-citizen children, was detained when he showed up to his immigration check-in, disappeared for eight days, and later deported to Guatemala. Mr. Juarez was well into the process of receiving a U visa, a protected status afforded to victims of crime. His wife, Rosmeri Miranda, was detained on Thursday and faces deportation. Their children, including 21-year-old Beverly Juarez, now face life without their parents.

‘Toughest immigration laws in the U.S.’

Big picture view:

Under state law, it is now a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants to enter Florida.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a number of bills into law in February that seek to address immigration enforcement in the state – and in step with President Donald Trump's efforts to tackle immigration enforcement across the nation. DeSantis said Florida now has the "toughest" state laws on immigration enforcement in the U.S.

The bills – part of a large immigration package and after a brief squabble between DeSantis and state Republicans – eliminate in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, make it a state crime to enter Florida undocumented and mandate "automatic death penalty" for immigrants convicted of murder, among other provisions.

Opponents said some of these measures would likely be challenged in court.

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