老澳门开奖结果

In recent weeks, the media has been abuzz with the allegations of sexual assault by Jerry Sandusky, Penn State鈥檚 former assistant football coach. Onlookers have reacted with appropriate disgust 鈥� , who called the case 鈥渉eartbreaking.鈥� President Obama pointed out that what matters most is not the institution, but our immediate need to protect the vulnerable children directly impacted by Sandusky鈥檚 alleged actions. As , there鈥檚 another highly vulnerable population being tormented by incidents of alleged sexual assault across the country, one that the administration has thus far failed to protect: detainees in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The 2003 (PREA) was enacted to protect every individual in government custody, , from sexual abuse and assault. Unfortunately, earlier this year the Department of Justice introduced that would exclude ICE facilities from the protections of PREA. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has responded to arguments against this exclusion by claiming ICE鈥檚 鈥渮ero-tolerance policy鈥� for sexual assault leaves no need for oversight of any kind. Documents obtained by the 老澳门开奖结果 through the Freedom of Information Act 鈥� depicted in this interactive map 鈥� make it clear that Napolitano has a wildly misguided and unacceptable idea what 鈥渮ero-tolerance鈥� really means. And it鈥檚 worth noting that rape and sexual assault are widely unreported, meaning our numbers likely represent just the tip of the iceberg.

Interestingly, the president鈥檚 commentary on our need to 鈥減rotect鈥� not the institution but the 鈥渧ulnerable鈥� victims are synonymous if not identical to the language we use when discussing the horrific incidents of assault occurring in immigration detention centers across the country. The parallels in the defense of these victims exist for a reason: no one should have to suffer through the experience of sexual assault or abuse 鈥� not children and not immigrants in government custody. Both of these populations are uniquely vulnerable, and both need protection.

President Obama was quick to defend the children impacted by the incidents at Penn State 鈥� and rightly so. As , 鈥淲hat happened at Penn State indicates that at a certain point, folks start thinking about systems and institutions, and don鈥檛 think about individuals.鈥� Well, Mr. President, we couldn鈥檛 have said it better ourselves. We cannot permit our desire to maintain a nationwide system of immigration detention to overshadow the vast number of individuals impacted by rape and sexual assault in that system, right under our administration鈥檚 nose, in their own facilities and often at the hands of their employees. Luckily, our administration has an opportunity to ensure that PREA applies to all detainees in custody of ICE facilities. Let鈥檚 hope President Obama can see how his own Penn State rhetoric applies to the hundreds of other alleged victims he has a chance to protect.

Join us in demanding that President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder grant the full protections of PREA to immigration detainees.

Learn more about immigration detention: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .