tags: , , Blog

Plans for Detention Reform Underway

Share This:

The Obama administration today revealed their plans for the anticipated immigration detention make-over — much-needed reform of a system that is itself primarily based on a broken immigration system.

This is, no doubt, a step in the right direction. The New York Times reports:

Ms. Napolitano and Mr. Morton say that they want to make the system more efficient, more accountable and less costly. The whole point of detaining immigrants, after all, is to quickly figure out which ones should be deported and to deport them, not to let them languish and certainly not to inflict punishment or undue suffering.

That sentiment was not exactly embraced during the Bush administration, which took a hard line against undocumented immigrants. And their staunch position on the issue also resulted in human rights abuses, such as not providing immigrant detainees with basic medical care, and by oftentimes housing immigrant detainees with dangerous criminals.