Immigration Detention

About

The scope of the carceral system has expanded prolifically in recent years, with undocumented immigrants finding themselves locked into the US prison system increasingly spurious means. Every night approximately 40,000 immigrants - men women and children - sleep in county jails and federal and privately run prison facilities all over the United States. This is part of a federally mandated detention bed quota system set by ICE, totally $2.3 billion.

In New York detention is happening to both adults and minors. More than 450 child immigrants who crossed the border between October 2017 and March 2018 were detained by ICE and held in facilities. Meanwhile Jersey and Upstate New York facilities house adult detainees awaiting trial or deportation. Activists have made some progress in battling the expansion of this system into the New York area with Hudson County terminating its contract with ICE to hold federal immigration detainees at its jail in Kearny by 2020. Despite this victory it is unsure where these detainees will be held after this, with worries they could be transported away from New York, and potential familial and community support networks.

This group will survey the emergence of detention centers, their adherence to human rights and their functions as part of the overall regime.