Topline
A Feb. 6 report from the volunteer Physicians for Human Rights that examined alleged “inhuman care” involving the tactic’s use in ICE features was included in a letter that nearly a hundred politicians wrote on Friday urging the Department of Homeland Security to “end the use of single confinement in immigration detention.
Major Information
The letter, which was addressed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, recommended that the company stop using solitary confinement and look for other options before finally putting it in place.
By April 5th, the lawmakers requested details about the company’s solitary confinement policies and the DHS oversight role.
According to a report released on February 6 from Physicians for Human Rights, many immigrants who the team interviewed were held in isolation while they were being held indefinitely for “minor disciplinary offenses” or” as retaliation for taking up hunger strikes or filing complaints were put on solitary confinement.
The report also revealed that the organization placed detained immigrants in solitary confinement more than 14, 000 times between 2018 and 2023, with stays lasting an average of 27 days, a figure that the group claimed” well exceeds the 15-day threshold that UN) human rights experts have determined constitutes torture” —a number that the organization recommended in 2011 and updated in 2015.
Eleven politicians signed off on the text: Sen. Ed Markey, D- Mass., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D- Mass., Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill., Sen. Martin Heinrich, D- N. M., Sen. Peter Welch, D- Vt., Sen. Patty Murray, D- Wash., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I- Vt., Sen. Laphonza Butler, D- Calif., Sen. Mazie Hirono, D- Hawaii, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D- Wash., Sen. Cory Booker, D- N. J., and Sen. Alex Padilla, D- Calif.
Forbes ‘ requests for comment were not promptly responded to by DHS and ICE.
Crucial Quote
” Given that solitary confinement has been shown to provide a substantial risk of large mental, emotional, and even real harm, we are concerned that ICE’s solitary confinement techniques may also entail cruel and unusual punishment in contravention of the U. S. Constitution”, the letter said.
Surprising Fact
In 2011, the recommended 15-day maximum for the practice was changed to solitary confinement, and the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur recommended a worldwide ban on the practice.
Key Background
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, solitary confinement has been linked to a range of negative health effects, including the onset of new mental illnesses and the recurrence of previously untreated conditions. In September 2013, ICE issued a directive on the practice to improve oversight and restrict its use among those with disabilities. An Office of the Inspector General’s report from October 2021, which examined detention files from 2015 to 2019, stated that the agency needed to improve its oversight of the policy on segregation use, the technical name for solitary confinement. More than two years later, in July 2023, numerous immigration advocacy groups lodged a complaint with ICE over alleged misuse of the procedure.
Tangent
The agency announced on March 13 that officers across five cities—Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D. C., Detroit and Buffalo, New York—would begin wearing body cameras in an attempt to increase public transparency about operations. ICE, however, stated that due to the significant budget deficit it is currently facing, it does not currently have the resources to implement the program completely.
Further Reading
The New York Times article explains how federal records show that immigrants are increasingly using solitary confinement.
Detainees and advocates blast the “horrible” conditions at the Louisiana ICE detention facility ( NBC News ).
ICE Officers Will Begin Using Body Cameras, But a budget gap could prevent a full rollout ( Forbes )
ICE reportedly takes into account mass media releases amid the$ 700 million budget gap ( Forbes ).
