Immigration detention

Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in detention until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention is the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorised arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention. In the United States, a similar practice began in the early 1980s with Haitians and Cubans detained at Guantanamo Bay, and other groups such as Chinese in jails and detention centres on the mainland. The practice was made mandatory by legislation passed in 1996 in response to the Oklahoma City bombing, and has come under criticism from organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, all of whom have released major studies of the subject, and the ACLU As of 2010, about 31,000 non-citizens were held in immigration detention on any given day, including children, in over 200 detention centres, jails, and prisons nationwide. The T. Don Hutto Residential Center opened in 2006 specifically to house non-criminal families. There are other significant facilities in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Oakdale, Louisiana, Florence, Arizona, Miami, Florida, Seattle, York, Pennsylvania, Batavia, New York, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and all along the Texas–Mexico border. During the five years between 2003 and 2008, about 104 mostly young individuals died in detention of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or shortly afterwards, and medical neglect may have contributed to 30 of those deaths. On 6 August 2008, 34-year-old New Yorker Hiu Lui Ng died in the detention of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The editors of The New York Times condemned the death and urged that the system must be fixed. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stated that the number of deaths per capita in detention is dramatically lower for ICE detainees than for U.S. prison and jail populations, that they provide 'the best possible healthcare' and that the nation as a whole is 'experiencing severe shortages of qualified health professionals' In May 2008 Congress began considering a bill to set new standards for immigrant detainee healthcare. In 2009, the Obama Administration pledged to overhaul the current immigration detention system and transform it into one that is less punitive and subject to greater federal oversight. Immigrants' rights advocates, however, have expressed concern that these reform efforts 'have been undermined by the agency’s continued overreliance on penal incarceration practices and by the pervasive anti-reform culture at local ICE field offices.' Several Asian nations are known to imprison immigrants on visa violations or for alleged trafficking, including the victims of trafficking and smuggling. These include Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Australia, mandatory immigration detention was adopted in 1992 for all non-citizens who arrive in Australia without a visa. That only 'border applicants' are subject to detention has sparked criticism, as it is claimed to unfairly discriminate against certain migrants. Other unlawful non-citizens, such as those that overstay their visas, are generally granted bridging visas while their applications are processed, and are therefore free to move around the community. The long-term detention of immigrant children has also sparked criticism of the practice by citizen's groups such as ChilOut and human rights organisations. Nonetheless, the High Court of Australia has confirmed, by majority, the constitutionality of indefinite mandatory detention of aliens. This and related decisions have been the subject of considerable academic critique. Australia has also sub-contracted with other nations to detain would-be immigrants offshore, including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru. Australia also maintains an offshore detention facility on Christmas Island. In July 2008, the Australian government announced it was ending its policy of automatic detention for asylum seekers who arrive in the country without visas. However, by September 2012, offshore detention was reinstated. Following the 2013 Australian federal election policies have been toughened and Operation Sovereign Borders has been launched.