HRW condemns solitary confinement of detained immigrants

The placement of immigrant detainees in solitary confinement is now subject to heightened scrutiny within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Human Rights Watch reported that at any given time, hundreds of detained immigrants are held in solitary confinement. In September, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it would limit but not ban the use of solitary confinement.

To address the risks of solitary confinement, ICE officials changed their policy last year on the use of solitary confinement. The policy limits who can be placed in solitary confinement, specifically stating that victims of sexual assault and people with mental disorders will have limited exposure to solitary confinement.

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement say they only place about 1 percent of its detained immigrants in solitary, this practice is nonetheless shocking because those detainees are being held on civil and not criminal, charges.

According to Univison, ICE released a statement saying, that “the segregation of detained immigrants remains rare and is only used when the authorities determine that there is no other option to ensure the safety of the detainee or the facilities.” ICE added, “The majority of prisoners in solitary confinement have been convicted of serious disciplinary offenses,” and sometimes are sent to these cells at their request.

The New York Times also reported last year that on any given day about 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement at the 50 largest detention facilities that make up the sprawling patchwork of holding centers nationwide overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Solitary confinement violates basic human rights

The United States has come under sharp criticism at home and abroad for relying on solitary confinement in its prisons more than any other democratic nation in the world.

Prison isolation fits the definition of torture, as stated in several international human rights treaties, and thus constitutes a violation of human rights law. For example, the U.N. Convention Against Torture defines torture as any state-sanctioned act “by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” for information, punishment, intimidation, or for a reason based on discrimination.