Communications with International Human Rights Bodies on the U.S. Immigrant Detention System
The UN and other regional human rights bodies engage in a variety of activities that seek to protect, monitor, and advance human rights worldwide. One tool for human rights compliance is that of monitoring and reporting on human rights conditions. The below list of resources include communications to and from Human Rights Monitoring Bodies relevant to the Coalition's Immigrant Detention project. To learn more about Human Rights Monitoring Bodies, click here.
Detention Conditions
Research shows that immigrants, including asylum seekers fleeing torture and long-time lawful permanent residents, are being unjustly detained in the U.S. Tens of thousands of people are locked up in a broken and cruel detention system, and are frequently denied the right to a hearing to determine if their detention is warranted. Many languish separated from their families, commingled with people serving criminal sentences, and are sometimes denied access to attorneys, family members and adequate medical care.
Detention Facility Standards
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has, in the past, laid out standards and called for reform of the immigrant detention system. Unfortunately, ICE has not adequately complied with many of its own standards and continues to commit serious human rights violations. View information on ICE reform initiatives and detention standards here.
DREAM Act Resources
The DREAM Act provides important human rights protections for immigrant youth, preserving their right to education and encouraging family unity for individuals who might otherwise be separated from their families through deportation. More than 65,000 undocumented immigrant students graduate from U.S. high schools each year with dreams of continuing their education, defending our country, and contributing to our communities. The below resources provide more information on the DREAM Act:
Immigrant Detention in International Law
Multiple human rights conventions express the rights of detained immigrants. The current United States immigrant detention system regularly and systematically violates these rights. The conventions listed below outline the rights of detained immigrants in international human rights law. Articles of particular relevance have been noted.
Immigration Enforcement
Secure Communities is a DHS program designed to identify immigrants in U.S. jails who are deportable under immigration law. Under Secure Communities, participating jails submit arrestees’ fingerprints not only to criminal databases, but to immigration databases as well; allowing ICE access to information on individuals held in jails. Unlike other ICE‐local partnerships, Secure Communities gives ICE a technological, not physical, presence in prisons and jails.
Immigration Fact Sheets
Energy of a Nation is the online immigration resource center of The Advocates for Human Rights. Below are a list of valuable facts sheets and toolkits listed on the Energy of a nation website. Visit the Energy of a Nation website for more Immigration Facts Sheets and for Spanish versions of the below documents.
Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families
Tragically, children are frequently the victims of the United State's flawed immigrant detention system. The below reports demonstrate the impact human rights abuses occuring within the U.S. immigrant detention system have on children.
Resources for Detained Immigrants
The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights can direct immigrants detained in the Midwest to resources and legal service providers that may be of assistance. If you are or know a detained immigrant, the following resources may be of use to you.
Resources for Policy Makers
Working in the framework of international human rights law, MCHR calls for comprehensive immigration reform which acknowledges immigrants’ right to due process, freedom from arbitrary detention, humane treatment in detention, refugee protection and non-refoulement, freedom from discrimination, protection of worker's rights, and family unity.
