Inhumane Treatment of Immigrants in America

Throughout the history of America, the treatment of immigrants, as well as the immigration laws, have always been mishandled. Along with that, the laws and regulations that are in place, regarding immigration have always been a hard, highly debated and controversial part of law. Within Congress, this topic has always been hard to agree upon and they find it hard to make decisions that every party will be satisfied with. As a result of this, the mistreatment of immigrants and their children has gotten worse, specifically, in migrant detention centers. Very inhumane treatment has been displayed within these detention centers. If I was a member of Congress and able to have an effect on these laws and regulations, I would change the way these government facilities are run, and the procedures done within them. I would make the handling and treatment of immigrants more humane and just.

In the United States, immigrant detention centers have been around for decades and has always been a big part of America’s history. Dating back to 1892, “the first dedicated immigration detention facility in the world, Ellis Island Immigration Station in New Jersey” was opened. Even back then, immigrants were mistreated. When immigrants entered Ellis Island, if they were presumed sick they “were removed from the line and taken across the room where you were locked in a pen, a cage, called the doctor’s pen'. In present time, detention centers have become very common and more undocumented immigrants are seeing the insides of these more than ever before. In these immigrant detention centers, immigrants are subject to the inhumane treatment within them. For example, it became public knowledge that they were keeping kids in cages and keeping families separated. In June of 2019, more than two thousand children were kept in the custody of the US Border Patrol in a detention center, without their parents. Children are not supposed to be held by these agents, legally, for more than 72 hours, however “in practice, they’re being held for days, sometimes weeks, in facilities without enough food or toothbrushes — going days without showering, overcrowded and undercaredfor”. In addition to this, they were putting children in front of judges alone without representation, expecting them to understand what was happening. Immigrant children as young as three years old are appearing in court proceedings regarding their deportation. While “requiring unaccompanied minors to go through deportation alone is not a new practice, in the wake of the Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy, more young children — including toddlers — are being affected than in the past”. All of these things happening to the young children will have long term effects on them, “a recently published study in Social Science & Medicine found that thirty two percent of children at a detention center showed signs of emotional problems. The study conductor also found that out of one hundred and fifty kids, ages nine through seventeen years old, at the same detention center, seventeen percent experienced symptoms of PTSD.

Looking at these conditions that children face in detention centers, alone without their families, if I was in Congress I would make significant changes. The first thing I would change is the procedure of separating children from their families. Instead of taking them to separate facilities, I would argue that they should be kept in the same facilities. Next, I would focus on the handling of immigrants within the detention centers. Every human deserves clean, liveable conditions as well as hygienic products. Finally, I believe that counseling services should be readily available to anyone, especially children, in these facilities, to help lower the chances of PTSD and other mental health issues.

Throughout American history, immigrants, especially children, have faced unliveable, traumatizing treatments. This all comes at the hands of a government that does not regulate, or require officials to make sure detention centers are liveable, hygienic, and humane. If I was in Congress, I would make significant changes to improve the conditions and procedures within these facilities, as well make sure the people in these facilities have access to basic human necessities and have access to counselors to reduce the risk of mental health issues in the future.

Bibliography:

• “Detention Timeline.” Freedom for Immigrants, 2017, www.freedomforimmigrants.org/detention-timeline.
• Jewett, Christina, et al. “Immigrant Toddlers Ordered to Appear in Court Alone.” The Texas Tribune, Texas Tribune, 28 June 2018, www.texastribune.org/2018/06/27/immigrant-toddlers-ordered-appear-court-alone/.
• Kennedy, Lesley. “Most Immigrants Arriving at Ellis Island in 1907 Were Processed in a Few Hours.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 June 2018, www.history.com/news/immigrants-ellis-island-short-processing-time.
• Lind, Dara. “The Horrifying Conditions Facing Kids in Border Detention, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 25 June 2019, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/25/18715725/children-border-detention-kids-cages-immigration.