The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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Editorials

December 9, 2009

Our View: Immigrant detention is broken

If there’s one thing Americans should agree on regarding the immigration problem in this country, it’s that the system of detention is inadequate.

What to do with borders, what to do with illegal aliens already here — those remain issues that severely divide well-meaning people. But meanwhile, large numbers of the undocumented among us who are detained are being held in places not meant for them, struggling with a system that confuses nearly everyone. Comprehensive changes to existing immigration policies will be tedious, but we can start by addressing the incarceration issues.

In Minnesota, 8,000 people are involved in deportation proceedings, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Between 200 and 300 are currently in custody, detained in county jails. The majority of those who are deported have no criminal record, but they can spend months in these jails because they’re considered a flight risk.

The issue here is not whether these individuals should be detained and deported; the issue is whether county jails provide the proper environment. Detainees are not the typical jail population. There are more women among immigrant detainees and a more diverse representation of nationalities is represented, complicated by language barriers. Mental health and medical issues are unique to the detainees, and though medical standards have been spelled out, they are not legally binding.

The Obama administration agrees the situation is not a good one, but for the moment there is no other alternative. ICE pays the counties to house the detainees. In this economy, the counties are happy to fill up their jails and get the cash.

In October, the federal government announced the intention of developing a new plan, using risk assessment strategies to better determine appropriate facilities for detainees. The plan is to explore the use of converted hotels, nursing homes and other residential facilities for non-criminal detainees.

This new directive, which will take years to implement, carries with it its own issues. One is whether enough suitable facilities can be built or converted. Another is the sensibilities of local populations. A third is when, or whether, the government will be able to follow through on its declared intentions.

In the meantime, thousands of people in Minnesota, and many more across the country, continue to be housed in facilities not designed for them.

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