Treating immigrants civilly
Express-News Editorial Board : March 29, 2013 : Updated: March 29, 2013 4:46pm
Photo By Associated Press
Immigrants walk to hearings at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. The New York Times reported that a surprising number of immigrant detainees are being held in solitary confinement for long periods of time.
There is a key difference often glossed over in the immigration debate. Immigration detainees are held on civil, not criminal, charges.
Solitary confinement has its limits even in criminal incarceration, where punishment is thought to have a place. Solitary confinement for prolonged periods and under the wrong conditions can be tantamount to torture even in prison.
But in civil detention, it is difficult to make the case for its use at all. At least not under the conditions detailed in an exhaustive article by the New York Times Sunday on solitary confinement in the nation's 50 largest immigration detention facilities. The facilities together house some 85 percent of the nation's immigration detainees.
These immigrants are detained to make sure they appear for administrative hearings. But, as the New York Times reported, about 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement on any given day.
There was the story of Ronal Rojas-Castro, a Honduran immigrant, captured after being held captive by smugglers in Texas. He broke his ankle trying to run away from authorities when he was liberated. Afterward, he was, he said, held in darkness for four days in his underwear because the crutches he was given might be used as a weapon.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they use solitary confinement only as a last resort. But the newspaper, using federal data, reported that two-thirds of the cases involved disciplinary infractions such as talking back to guards or getting into fights.
In one case, a gay detainee was reportedly isolated for his own protection. There are better ways.
Immigration is a hot-button issue. But the infractions here are civil. Detainees should be housed as civilly — and humanely — as possible.