The Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a left-of-center nonprofit primarily devoted to opposing the detention of immigrants. The organization seeks to end all involuntary immigration detention and defund both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). ¹

History

The Detention Watch Network was founded in 1997 by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and the Lutherans Immigration and Refugee Service “to combat the explosive growth of the U.S. immigration detention system.” According to DWN’s website, the organization was re-launched in 2005 as a dues-based network of advocacy groups. ²

Policy Positions

The Detention Watch Network supports left-wing criminal justice and immigration policies. DWN opposes immigration detention and advocates those arrested should be freed while their immigration status is determined by authorities. DWN opposes family detention, “shadow prisons” (de facto detention centers that operate under different official categories), and supports stronger oversight and regulations of existing detention centers. ³

DWN supported releasing all detained immigrants during the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. ⁴

According to DWN, immigration detention became an official policy in the United States in the 1980s after an influx of Cuban and Haitian refugees. Immigrant detention then expanded in the 1990s under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, both of which were intended to reduce immigrant-related crimes. Immigrant detention further expanded in the 2000s under President Barack Obama, particularly family detention. The Trump administration further pushed these efforts with a dramatic increase in funding for local law enforcement, and the Biden administration has since continued these policies. ⁵

Activities

The Detention Watch Network runs the Communities not Cages program to oppose immigrant detainment centers. In 2022, DNW targeted ten facilities, three of which were shut down by the Biden administration. ⁶

DNW co-leads the Defund Hate campaign with dozens of other organizations to encourage the defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). From 2017 to 2022, DNW claimed to help block $15 billion in funding for both organizations. ⁷

DNW provides guidance for how to request a tour of immigrant detention facilities for the purpose of information gathering and engaging in activism. ⁸

Members

As of July 2024, the Detention Watch Network has dozens of individual members and 106 member organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Freedom for Immigrants, the National Immigration Law Center, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Bronx Defenders, Make the Road New York, and the Immigrant Action Alliance. ⁹

In 2022, DNW expanded by 34 members, including 13 organizations. ¹⁰

Membership dues range from $150 to $2,800 annually depending on the member organization’s budget. ¹¹

Leadership

Silky Shah is the executive director and a board member of the Detention Watch Network. She has worked at the group since 2009 and has led it since 2017. Shah previously was a board member of Grassroots Leadership and as an outreach organizer at Democracy Now! ¹²

Aimee Nichols is the managing director of DWN. She previously worked for the Center for Community Change, the Nevada State Democratic Party, and the Alliance for Citizenship. ¹³

Victoria Lopez is the board president of DWN. She is the advocacy and legal director at the ACLU of Arizona and previously worked with the ACLU National Prison Project and the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. ^{14 15}

Danielle Alvarado is the vice president of DWN. She is the executive director of the Fair Work Center, an advocacy group that supports more labor regulations. Previously, she worked for the Urban Justice Center, the Central American Refugee Center, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice. ^{16 17}

Funding

In 2022, the Detention Watch Network generated $2.6 million in revenue, of which 86 percent came from foundation grants and 4 percent came from membership dues. ¹⁸

DWN has received grant funding from Borealis Philanthropy, the Ford Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, M&T Bank, Oxfam, the band Rage Against the Machine, the Oak Foundation, and the Four Freedoms Fund. ¹⁹

1. “The Issues.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/issues.
2. “About Detention Watch Network.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/about.
3. “The Issues.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/issues.
4. “Free Them All.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/freethemall.
5. “Immigration Detention 101.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/issues/detention-101.
6. “2022 Annual Report.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/DWN%202022%20Annual%20Report-compressed.pdf.
7. “2022 Annual Report.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/DWN%202022%20Annual%20Report-compressed.pdf.
8. “Advocate.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/take-action/advocate.
9. “Membership Directory.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/about/membership-directory.
10. “2022 Annual Report.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/DWN%202022%20Annual%20Report-compressed.pdf.
11. “Membership FAQs.” Detention News Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/membership/faq.
12. “Silky Shah.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/silky-shah-436b211a/.
13. “Aimee Nichols.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimee-nichols-b9885559/.
14. “Bio.” ACLU. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.aclu.org/bio/victoria-lopez.
15. “Decision Watch Network Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833874583/202341659349300429/full.
16. “Decision Watch Network Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833874583/202341659349300429/full.
17. “Danielle Alvarado.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-alvarado-88541884/.
18. “2022 Annual Report.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/DWN%202022%20Annual%20Report-compressed.pdf.
19. “2022 Annual Report.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/DWN%202022%20Annual%20Report-compressed.pdf.