Questioning the Utility and Fairness of INS Detention: Criticisms of Poor Institutional Conditions and Protracted Periods of Confinement for Undocumented Immigrants

• NCJ Number: 173247
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: February 1997 Pages: 41-54
• Author(s): M Welch
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the conditions of confinement at Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) facilities and delineates several key aspects of the controversy surrounding INS detention policy.

Abstract

As the immigration crisis escalates, INS officials have responded with several measures designed to reduce illegal immigration. In particular, INS has increased the use of detention for the purpose of deterrence, a policy that has stirred controversy among immigration experts. Critics insist that, for most undocumented immigrants, detention is unnecessary, conditions of confinement are exceedingly harsh, and periods of detention are unreasonably prolonged. The article discusses the lack of public interest in or concern for the conditions of confinement at INS detention centers; institutional problems at INS detention centers; the 1995 riot at the INS detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and its aftermath; the reproduction of violence against detainees; problems associated with privatization in INS detention; and the use of county jails in detaining undocumented immigrants. References