Issue information

The stance of an immigrant

"The technology is very advanced there; this thing was like an ID card. It worked together with the alarm. If you went behind the bars with this thing, I guess it activated it, because if you went to the door when you weren't supposed to, it turned on the alarm … They took a photo of me, I have a photo in my uniform, and it has a barcode. To go to the restroom, to go to the door, you had to do it like that [he imitates bringing the card close to a reader] and the door opened. But if you wanted to go out, you notified them. They have a lot of power. The United States has a lot of power."
(Radziwinowiczówna, 2020)

This quote from a research paper explains the many intricacies of the U.S. immigration system, and their barbarric practices within. The quote outlines how the writer (Acacio, a Mexican national) had to deal with being tagged and dehumanized, like livestock.

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The larger issue.

There are better alternatives to immigrant detention.

As shown by the quote -- an interview between a researcher and an immigrant, people in detention centers feel like they are animals, unimportant and yet constantly watched

"Agnieszka: And how does it feel to be a number? Javier: I felt as if I were, almost the majority felt as if we were cattle at a ranch, a herd of cows … One, two, three, four, five… it's like cattle counting. They count three times: again at night and in the afternoon. They give us identification with a picture, you get a number of a bed."
(Radziwinowiczówna, 2020)
As shown by research done by the Human Rights Watch organization, the following types of alternatives had been piloted, and shown to be effective at asslimating immigrants:
  • Detain immigrants for as little time as possible. Have them file proper documentation, and do not permanently or semi-permanently detain them
  • Shift funding and resources from detention centers to community-based care programs, to let more people into the country
  • Instill community case management systems
(Holmes, 2021)

Frequently asked questions

What is the purpose of detaining immigrants?

The government detains immirants, because they view them as a national security threat. The main issue is that they detain and monitor people, with zero prior suspicion, only their origin.

What policies have put the barbaric government practice into place?

Policies like ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program) and EMD (Electronic Device Monitoring) have been invoked as a means of national security

Is this a good use of state funding?

Short answer: nope. Longer answer: No, as the programs in place require funding for equipment, manpower, facilities, and more, they are pretty much wasting money

Alright, immigrant surveillance is harmful to everybody. What's the alternative?

The clear alternative to constant monitoring is to actually support the migrants coming to the country, which has been proven by HRW in many countries.

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