Yesterday we wrote about a New York Times story on immigrants in detention who are forced into solitary confinement for 22 to 23 hours a day and weeks on end. The method of imprisonment—already considered a form of torture—is especially horrific when imposed upon immigrants, who are held for civil rather than criminal violations. The purpose of detention is to keep immigrants in custody until a decision can be reached about their immigration status; it is not meant to punish them. Yet hundreds of immigrants every day are locked into solitary confinement, sometimes for infractions as simple as having unapproved belongings, or for “self-protection” if they’re gay.
Today, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), one of the Senate Gang of 8 currently discussing immigration legislation and the chairman of the Senate immigration subcommittee, took on ICE Director John Morton and urged him to impose new limits on the use of solitary confinement at immigration detention facilities. In a letter, Schumer worried that solitary confinement risked becoming a common “go-to option” in the detention of immigrants. He called the practice one of the “harshest forms of incarceration” and said that its use should “always be a last resort” and “exceedingly rare.” Saying that the use of solitary confinement should be limited to no more than 14 days at a time in most cases, Schumer said that he would push for immigration reform to include limits if ICE did not take steps on its own.
Bravo, Sen. Schumer! It’s a much-needed step toward ending a terrible practice.
(Of course, ending unnecessary detentions and deportations in the first place is also a much-needed step.)
Read Sen. Schumer’s full letter to ICE Director John Morton below:
Dear Director Morton,
I write in my capacity as Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security to express concern about the findings from an internal survey of detention facilities overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
As reported by the New York Times on March 24, 2013, the survey data reveals that ICE-contracted detention centers rely on solitary confinement for a surprisingly large number of inmates. On an average day, according to the report, roughly 300 inmates are confined in a segregated cell, most for 23 out of the 24 hours in a day. Most distressing, in more than half of the cases where this form of detention occurs, the period of solitary confinement lasts longer than 14 days, which is the point at which experts say inmates undergo severe mental stress and can turn to thoughts of suicide. More than 10 percent of those kept in solitary confinement are held there for 75 days or more.
This report suggests an overreliance by ICE on the harshest forms of incarceration. In general, severe forms of punishments such as solitary confinement should be exceedingly rare at ICE detention facilities since, in most cases, these detentions are based on civil, not criminal, infractions. While solitary confinement may be a necessary option for aliens who have dangerous criminal records or who otherwise might pose a danger to other detainees, the report’s figures suggest it risks becoming a “go-to” option for a broader array of cases. Particularly troubling is the reliance on solitary confinement as a means of cordoning off certain inmates, such as gays and lesbians, who may be at risk in the general detainee population. This would seem to amount to inflicting punishment in the name of offering protection.
I appreciate your agency’s commitment to balancing the need to enforce our nation’s immigration laws with the moral obligation to do so humanely. Even with the administration’s policy of prioritizing criminal aliens for detention over non-criminals, a record number of detentions occurred last year, with 430,000 aliens detained. This growth in detentions makes it all the more important that ICE take all possible steps to treat inmates humanely. This should include fully exploring non-detention alternatives for low-priority detainees, such as electronic ankle bracelets and supervision by certified community providers. I understand that in 2012, use of such alternatives rose by 25 percent. This is a positive trend, but we can do more.
Above all, solitary confinement at ICE detention facilities must always be a last resort. It should never be imposed on at-risk aliens such as gay and lesbian inmates; ICE should find better methods to protect them. Nor should unduly long periods of such confinement be allowed for nuisance inmates. I urge you to consider issuing new regulations that bar the use of solitary confinement for more than 14 days except in the most extreme of circumstances. If this is not possible, I respectfully urge you to respond to me in writing explaining why.
As you know, bipartisan negotiations on common-sense immigration reform are very far along in the Senate. Among other steps the emerging legislation will take to rationalize our immigration system, it is my hope that the proposal will include reforms to further ensure our detention system adheres to the highest possible standards of both security and human decency. To this end, if ICE will not act to limit periods of solitary confinement to no more than 14 days except in the most extreme circumstances, I will seek to address that in our forthcoming legislation.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
Chairman
Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security
