Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
Fifteen immigrants have died in immigration detention so far this year, ten of them between January and June, making that period the deadliest in recent history. Some of these deaths were suicides. More than 1,200 people are allegedly missing from the infamous and controversial Everglades facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” with families and attorneys unable to locate them.
Advocates report that children are being subjected to prolonged detention under harmful conditions, and that reports of overcrowding, unsanitary facilities, and problems with food and health care access are multiplying.
There are currently close to 60,000 detainees, a record number, and the rapid expansion of arrests and detention, combined with diminishing transparency, signals a worsening situation for immigrants, most of who have not been convicted of any crime. Our panelists today discussed these issues and provided the best information available.
Heather Hogan, Policy and Practice Counsel, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) said she had served as an asylum review officer in detention centers in Arizona and Texas and witnessed detainees being treated like criminals.
“They were woken up at three in the morning, put on handcuffs and shackles, and orange prison uniforms, and were marched into the interview room like prisoners.” Hogan pointed out that many political asylum seekers have already experienced severe trauma, and detention has caused a rapid deterioration of their psychological conditions.
She recalled that a young woman hanged herself a few days after completing the “Credible Fear (Credible Fear) interview, which is a part of political asylum”, which deeply shocked her colleagues. She pointed out that authorities often put people who have attempted suicide, transgender people or people living with HIV into solitary confinement in the name of protection. Detention has gradually become a tool of punishment rather than a means of immigration management.
Andrew Free, Atlanta-based lawyer; founded #DetentionKills, to support families and communities affected by deaths in DHS custody pointed out that based on his comparison with the Deportation Data Program, 22 people have died in ICE custody this year, making it the deadliest year since the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also found that at least five deaths were never announced by the government, and that more than 400 deaths may have been concealed since 2009. Free said Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center has been the nation’s deadliest facility for many years, and “many of those who died by suicide or due to delays in medical care. He added that although ICE releases death data more often than some prison systems, there is still a lack of transparency.
Also Read: Mexican flag fuels debate amid LA immigration protests
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
