Ramirez, Civil and Human Rights Organizations Introduce the Full Body Restraint Prohibition Act

Washington, DC- Yesterday, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03)joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and other advocacy groups to introduce legislation that would prohibit the use of funds for DHS's acquisition and utilization of full-body restraints, the Full Body Restraint Prohibition Act.

Full-body restraints, commonly referred to as the WRAP device, are body restraints being severely misused on detained individuals. Investigations by the Associated Pressand Bloombergdetermined that agents use the WRAP device to punishand silence detainees who protest their deportation.

"We know there are so many painful examples of DHS's brutality that cannot be refuted. One such tool of the Administration's brutality and abuse is 'The Wrap,'" said Congresswoman Ramirez. "There is no doubt that use of 'The Wrap' is a cruel, inhumane tool to oppress, torture, and injure all those they consider the public enemy. Today, with the support of my colleagues and 15 endorsing organizations, I am proud to introduce the Full-Body Restraint Prohibition Act. The bill protects our communities from those who, inspired by the worst of our history, would bind us and blind us, using tools of subjugation."

In November 2024, DHS's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties found that ICE "does not have sufficient policies or operational guidance governing its use of The Wrap." The WRAP device is the subject of a growing number of federal lawsuits, as it has caused physical harm to detained individuals. Nationwide, there have been 41 incidents where law enforcement used the Wrap on someone who died.

The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson (GA-04), Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12).

The legislation is endorsed by national organizations, including American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Human Rights First, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN NY), Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Public Counsel, National Immigration Justice Center (NIJC), Coalition on Human Needs (CHN), Estrella del Paso, Acacia Center for Justice.

"Accountability requires more than internal reviews and after-the-fact explanations; it requires clear limits enforced by law. LULAC supports the Full Body Restraint Prohibition Act because when the government restrains a human body, it must also restrain its own power," said Juan Proano, Chief Executive Officer of LULAC.

"For too long, ICE has used American taxpayer dollars to deport immigrants in the most inhumane way possible-in full body restraints. The use of this torturous device inflicts severe physical and psychological pain on people, and must be stopped. Congress must act to cut ICE funding to end these and other abusive practices. Passing Representative Ramirez's bill is a good first step toward reining in ICE's harm to our communities," said Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, Senior Policy Counsel at NILC.

"DHS' use of full body restraints is inhumane, unacceptable, and even deadly," said Kate Voigt, Senior Policy Counsel at the ACLU."We cannot allow this lawless agency to continue using WRAP devices to punish and silence people in its custody. Congress must pass the Full-Body Restraint Prohibition Act without delay and ensure that our taxpayer dollars aren't being used to fuel further abuses."

"The use of full body restraints is illustrative of the grave inhumane treatment people experience daily in ICE's detention and deportation machine," said Jesse Franzblau, Associate Policy Director, NIJC."At a time when federal agents are terrorizing our communities and the detention system is expanding at an unprecedented rate -- we are grateful for members of congress fighting to end the most abusive practices on the path towards dismantling the inhumane use of immigration detention overall,"

"ICE and CBP's escalation of deadly force in our communities has ripped the curtain back on the abusive tactics these agencies have long used against immigrants behind closed doors. Outside of the public eye, ICE's torture tactics go unchecked. The use of full body restraints - even after shackling people - is an extreme, senseless measure that defies basic humanity and can lead to suffocation," said Margaret Cargioli, Directing Attorney of Policy and Advocacy of ImmDef."These restraint devices, linked to over 12 deaths in the past decade, are explicitly flagged as dangerous in a 2023 report from the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. No federal agency should be allowed to wield tools that endanger lives. We are grateful to Rep. Ramirez for the introduction of the Full Body Restraint Prohibition Act, a critical step toward ending ICE and CBP's deadly and dehumanizing practices."

"We are proud to stand with Congresswoman Ramirez today in support of the 'Full-Body Restraint Prohibition Act's' introduction. We know that ICE is routinely subjecting people to prolonged shackling, and in some cases, the WRAP full body restraint, which medical experts warn can cause severe physical and psychological distress. Some of the ICE flights when people are subject to these restraints last for more than 24 hours in total and we can only imagine the distress and harm caused by this mistreatment. We hope that Congress will move to pass this legislation and reign in these harsh tactics without delay," said Robyn Barnard, Senior Director of Refugee and Immigrant Rights advocacy for Human Rights.

"The Acacia Center for Justice applauds Representative Delia C. Ramirez for introducing the Full-Body Restraint Prohibition Act, which would prevent the Department of Homeland Security from using full- body restraints, including one known as the WRAP device, on individuals in their custody. Acacia's experts have worked at the intersection of disability justice and immigration justice for years, most specifically through our National Qualified Representative Program, which provides legal representation to ensure due process safeguards for people in ICE detention who an immigration judge has deemed incompetent to represent themselves due to cognitive disabilities and severe mental health needs. The American public is becoming increasingly aware of the inhumane tactics used by immigration enforcement to detain, punish, and threaten people subjected to civil immigration detention, and use of the WRAP device is among the most egregious," said Lisa Okamoto, Program Director of the National Qualified Representative Program at the Acacia Center for Justice.

"The use of full-body restraints to punish and silence detained individuals is not just a policy failure, it is a violation of human dignity and constitutional rights. Public Counsel stands in full support of the Full Body Restraint Prohibition Act because no person, regardless of immigration status, should be subjected to cruel and dehumanizing treatment at the hands of federal agents. We commend Representative Ramirez for taking action to end this abuse and to establish the transparency and accountability mechanisms that have been absent for far too long," said Rebecca Brown, Supervising Attorney at Immigrants' Rights Project.

For full text of the bill, CLICK HERE.