The Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to educate the public and policy makers about the U.S. immigration detention and deportation system and advocate for humane reform so that all who come to our shores receive fair and humane treatment. DWN was founded in 1997 by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in response to the rapid growth of the immigration detention system in the United States, as a result of the immigration laws passed by Congress in 1996. Since its inception the network has transformed into a membership-based coalition which now includes over 80 religious, civil, immigrant and human rights organizations as well as many individual members. Our members bring rich and diverse expertise to the table. They are lawyers, legal workers, activists, doctors, psychologists, national advocates, social workers, community organizers, artists, clergy, students, formerly detained immigrants, and affected families from around the country. They are engaged in individual case and impact litigation, documenting conditions violations, local and national administrative and legislative advocacy, community organizing and mobilizing, communication and messaging, popular education, teaching, and social service and pastoral care.