Rep Pallone to Introduce Bill to Ensure Immigrant Parents Can Contact Their Separated Children Free of Charge

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced the Compassionate Calling and Immigrant Family Reunification Act of 2018 to put an end to the abusive practice of charging detained immigrant parents extortionary rates to use the phone to either contact their children that have been separated from them and placed in detention facilities or to contact federal agencies to learn where their children are being held. Ranking Member Pallone introduced the bill following an alarming report that at least one detention facility is charging parents $8.00 per minute to place calls. 

The Compassionate Calling and Immigrant Family Reunification Act would direct the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate the recent inmate calling order— which includes immigration detention facilities—and would direct the Trump Administration to ensure immigrant parents can call their separated children without charge. The inmate calling order was finalized in 2015 to ensure that inmate calling service rates were reasonable and fair for inmates and their families. Following President Trump’s inauguration, new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai refused to defend key parts of the order in court including a cap on rates for intrastate calls. After the FCC refused to defend the inmate calling order in court, several key provisions were struck down leaving inmates and immigrants in detention facilities without protections against extortionary rates to place a call to their families.