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Phoenix, Arizona – The U.S. government’s heavy reliance on immigration detention has led to inhumane conditions in
Arizona’s five immigration detention centers, unnecessary and prolonged detention and abusive treatment of immigrants,
according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona released today. The 36-page report, “In Their
Own Words: Enduring Abuse in Arizona Immigration Detention Centers,” is the most comprehensive report documenting
the experiences of immigrants detained by the federal government in Arizona.
“Many of the men and women that we spoke to are needlessly detained for many months to several years in terrible
conditions that jeopardize their safety and well-being,” said ACLU of Arizona staff attorney Victoria Lopez, who authored the
report based on 115 face-to-face interviews conducted with people detained in Eloy and Florence, Arizona over a two-year
period from March 2009 through March 2011. “Until there is independent oversight and monitoring of facilities where
immigration detainees are held, detainees have no choice but to speak up for themselves.”
As part of the ACLU’s documentation efforts, Lopez spent countless hours corresponding with detainees, interviewing
their family members, and culling through hundreds of government records, including more than 500 grievances. The
report illustrates the real stories of people, including vulnerable women and transgender detainees, who have suffered
from abuses related to inhumane conditions and inadequate legal protections while detained.
According to the report, flawed immigration policies, including local immigration enforcement, have led to a 58% increase
in immigration detention in Arizona over the past six years. In addition, because there are no legally-enforceable standards
and the majority of immigration detention centers in Arizona are operated by either private corporations or a local county
jail, there is very little oversight over the delivery of medical care, grievance procedures, and overall treatment of detainees.
One of the cases cited by the ACLU in its report documents the story of Leticia, a single mother of two U.S. citizen children
with no criminal history who was detained for almost two years by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the
Pinal County Jail (PCJ), which is operated by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. During most of that time, she was not
allowed contact visits with her children or outdoor recreation and endured deplorable conditions.
Despite statements by the Department of Homeland Security almost two years ago indicating initiatives to reform the
immigration detention system, major failures persist in the Arizona facilities, the ACLU said. Among its recommendations,
the ACLU-AZ called on ICE to terminate its contract with PCJ, which received “deficient” ratings in 2007, 2008 and 2009,
and where the ACLU documented the most egregious examples of human rights abuses.
For example, in the winter 2010, ICE transferred hundreds of immigrant women out of PCJ after the women submitted
petition letters complaining of abusive treatment by guards, insufficient hygiene supplies, and poor medical treatment. In
the spring 2011, men detained at the same jail began a hunger strike to protest many of the same problems. Over the
course of the past year, the ACLU-AZ has also received reports from PCJ involving excessive use of force against
detainees and jail officials’ failure to accommodate detainees’ religious needs.
“No amount of cosmetic fixes will take care of the fact that immigration detention presents major fiscal and human costs
for immigrants and citizens alike,” added Lopez. “DHS should take immediate steps to end its contract with Pinal County
Jail officials who aren’t being held accountable and operate a facility that fails to meet even minimum constitutional
standards."
With 3,000 people detained on any given day in ICE facilities in Arizona, the ACLU-AZ also called on the federal
government to reduce the number of people subjected to detention in Arizona by utilizing more cost-effective alternatives to
detention and ensure that conditions in Arizona detention facilities comport with basic human rights and needs.
Read the report: http://www.acluaz.org/detention-report-2011
Copyright © 2011 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Arizona’s five immigration detention centers, unnecessary and prolonged detention and abusive treatment of immigrants,
according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona released today. The 36-page report, “In Their
Own Words: Enduring Abuse in Arizona Immigration Detention Centers,” is the most comprehensive report documenting
the experiences of immigrants detained by the federal government in Arizona.
“Many of the men and women that we spoke to are needlessly detained for many months to several years in terrible
conditions that jeopardize their safety and well-being,” said ACLU of Arizona staff attorney Victoria Lopez, who authored the
report based on 115 face-to-face interviews conducted with people detained in Eloy and Florence, Arizona over a two-year
period from March 2009 through March 2011. “Until there is independent oversight and monitoring of facilities where
immigration detainees are held, detainees have no choice but to speak up for themselves.”
As part of the ACLU’s documentation efforts, Lopez spent countless hours corresponding with detainees, interviewing
their family members, and culling through hundreds of government records, including more than 500 grievances. The
report illustrates the real stories of people, including vulnerable women and transgender detainees, who have suffered
from abuses related to inhumane conditions and inadequate legal protections while detained.
According to the report, flawed immigration policies, including local immigration enforcement, have led to a 58% increase
in immigration detention in Arizona over the past six years. In addition, because there are no legally-enforceable standards
and the majority of immigration detention centers in Arizona are operated by either private corporations or a local county
jail, there is very little oversight over the delivery of medical care, grievance procedures, and overall treatment of detainees.
One of the cases cited by the ACLU in its report documents the story of Leticia, a single mother of two U.S. citizen children
with no criminal history who was detained for almost two years by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the
Pinal County Jail (PCJ), which is operated by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. During most of that time, she was not
allowed contact visits with her children or outdoor recreation and endured deplorable conditions.
Despite statements by the Department of Homeland Security almost two years ago indicating initiatives to reform the
immigration detention system, major failures persist in the Arizona facilities, the ACLU said. Among its recommendations,
the ACLU-AZ called on ICE to terminate its contract with PCJ, which received “deficient” ratings in 2007, 2008 and 2009,
and where the ACLU documented the most egregious examples of human rights abuses.
For example, in the winter 2010, ICE transferred hundreds of immigrant women out of PCJ after the women submitted
petition letters complaining of abusive treatment by guards, insufficient hygiene supplies, and poor medical treatment. In
the spring 2011, men detained at the same jail began a hunger strike to protest many of the same problems. Over the
course of the past year, the ACLU-AZ has also received reports from PCJ involving excessive use of force against
detainees and jail officials’ failure to accommodate detainees’ religious needs.
“No amount of cosmetic fixes will take care of the fact that immigration detention presents major fiscal and human costs
for immigrants and citizens alike,” added Lopez. “DHS should take immediate steps to end its contract with Pinal County
Jail officials who aren’t being held accountable and operate a facility that fails to meet even minimum constitutional
standards."
With 3,000 people detained on any given day in ICE facilities in Arizona, the ACLU-AZ also called on the federal
government to reduce the number of people subjected to detention in Arizona by utilizing more cost-effective alternatives to
detention and ensure that conditions in Arizona detention facilities comport with basic human rights and needs.
Read the report: http://www.acluaz.org/detention-report-2011
Copyright © 2011 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
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The report points out that flawed immigration policies, including local immigration enforcement, have led
to a 58% increase in immigration detention in Arizona over the past six years.
to a 58% increase in immigration detention in Arizona over the past six years.
Press Release
Barriozona
June 23, 2011
Barriozona
June 23, 2011
Inhumane Conditions for Immigration Detainees, Reports
ACLU of Arizona
ACLU of Arizona
