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The growth of immigration detention

There are two justice systems in America. In one, people (mostly white) have basic human and civil rights. They have access to a lawyer early in the process. They get to notify their family about where they are being held. They have the right to competent medical treatment while incarcerated. And should they die in prison, their families are informed.

In the shadow of this America, there exists a second tier of justice for those (mostly non-white) who cannot present a valid identification and often cannot speak English. In this America, you can be detained with minimal, if any, access to legal counsel and without family notification. Where you are held is often a secret and you can be moved, without notice, to another undisclosed detention center. Guards can let you suffer in pain or worse without medical attention and there is no accountability for this neglect.

Each year in America, hundreds of thousands of people go through this shadowy prison complex. On any given day, more than 33,000 immigrants—from children to individuals fleeing violence and persecution—are held in detention. This does not include non citizens held in federal prisons, many of who are there for offenses once treated as civil violations.

Corporations count on detention—and its growth. Criminal justice reforms have gained traction and states under budget pressure are looking to release some prisoners. But a thriving prison-industrial complex has identified immigrant detention as a boom market.

In a series of editorials this week, EL DIARIO/LA PRENSA will look at conditions within immigration detention and the lack of accountability for gross neglect. This paper will examine how private corporations contracted by the federal government view detention as a cash cow. This has serious implications for Latinos, the nation’s fastest growing community, and our nation.

Finally, we will highlight recommendations for checking the growth of a rising immigration prison complex.

As the mobilization for immigration reform builds steam, we raise the issue of immigrant detention as a matter of justice, or rather, injustice. Immigration detention flies against basic international standards for human treatment, against Constitutional principles and against family values, as parents are often unnecessarily detained and separated from their children.

This shameful system is driven by a search for profits, not sensible, humane policies. Americans should not stand for it.