Immigration Detention Centers--What gives?

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a report on KUT, the local NPR affiliate about an immigration detention center in Taylor, Texas, just outside of Austin that was housing whole families--including children. I can remember being upset at what I heard; the facility it seemed was basically a jail with another name, but I was driving and I didn't have a way to jot down information. It stayed at the back of my mind, however, and then last night my husband and I went out to dinner at the local tacaria (a taco restaurant for those of you not from the region). On my way in, I picked up the last copy of ahora si, a local Spanish language newspaper published in association with the Austin American Statesman, the main Austin daily. Ahora si is a weekly, and this issue was dated 21 al 27 de deciembre de 2006.

In the paper was an article entitled "Grupos subrayan dificultades de familias inmigrantes encarceladas en Taylor", which translates to "Groups underline difficulties of immigrant families incarcerated in Taylor". Immediately, I thought back to the KUT report and began reading the article. The plus side, if there is one, is that the children are being kept with their families to avoid breaking the families apart and placing children in the care of the state. Laudable. Now having done some research, I am aware that in other parts of the country, there are children in foster care and group homes, while their parents face deportation proceedings, which we know, lamentably, can be lengthy to say the least.

But, this situation in Taylor does not seem a whole lot more favorable. The article states that the children are given an hour a day of English lessons and an hour a day of recreation. I thought it was the norm for hardened criminals convicted of violent felonies to receive an hour a day of recreation. And what about the rest of the schooling that these children are supposed to receive? The article states that many children are losing weight and that many of the "detainees" suffer from head aches and emotional distress, but are not provided with psychological services.

We can go 'round and 'round on whether or not illegal immigrants should be detained, but as I have written before, children are not responsible for their families decisions to immigrate to the United States, either legally or illegally. And let's say that after all the legal issues have been ironed out, that these children are eventually deported with their parents to countries they may no longer remember. What image of the United States will they be taking with them? I thought we were trying to limit the number of enemies and potential terrorists, not to increase them. Even if forced return to the detention centers to sleep, couldn't the kids go to school? Couldn't they interact with children who live more normal lives?

I also noted that the facility in Taylor is run by a for-profit company called the Corrections Corporation of America, which further research on the web led me to know runs others of these centers across the country. This corporation was, as its name suggests, originally formed to run prisons, which it still does. One can understand a for-profit company, especially one designed and organized to deal with violent criminals, not being concerned first and foremost with the education and emotional well-being of children.

According to an article published by The Progressive on April 18, 2006, KBR, a subsidiary of the infamous Halliburton, has recently won an contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to build more of these immigrant detention centers. As most readers remember, Halliburton is the former company of Vice President Dick Cheney and it and its subsidiary, KBR, are under investigation for bilking our country out of millions in Iraq. I would be quite surprised to find that Halliburton is concerned foremost with the education and emotional well-being of children, either.

The number of detained immigrants in this country has risen from 6, 785 in 1994 to more than 22,000 in 2006 according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union published in the Ahora si article, which also reported that Michael Chertoff, head of the Department for Homeland Security says that plans are indeed in place for more of the family detention centers to be opened in this country.

From across the web, I found more and more frightening reports of people be held, some for years, in government sponsored detention centers awaiting action on their cases or impending deportations. Many have filed asylum claims. Many are legal residents with green cards who have been picked up for or who have served time for very routine offenses--including traffic stops for broken taillights. Some have been legal residents for decades and have few if any ties to the countries they will likely be deported to. I can only assume that some illegals immigrants are in these detention centers for actual dangerous crimes and should be deported post haste, but I pity the guy with the broken taillight locked up with those guys.

I also read a disturbing account in the People's Weekly World, written by Paul Hill, of a Nigerian man being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center in Oklahoma City. In his article, "Lifting the Curtain: Immigrant Detention Centers in U.S.", Mr. Hill tells how Mr. Daso Abibo, 51, while shackled, was assaulted and tortured by six federal Homeland Security Deportation Officers. A woman, Deanna Burdine, 65, happened upon the attack and feared he had been killed. She reported the incident. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Burdine was fired and Mr. Abibo was deported. The situation in the Oklahoma City facility is now under investigation by the FBI.

The Oklahoma City center is under the direction of a department of the United States government. I fear what abuses may come to pass under the direction of "rent a cops" and their for profit bosses. From all I can glean thus far Mr. Abibo was not in a "family facility", but that should not give us much comfort, because as these are not U.S. citizens, the whole issue has not gotten the attention it deserves. Until light is shown on problem, little will change.

What gives?