Key Statistics
- The U.S. government detains over 280,000 people a year – more than triple the number of people in detention just nine years ago – in over 400 detention centers, jails, and contract facilities at an annual cost of more than $1.2 billion.
- Among immigrant detainees are many long-time residents with U.S. citizen dependants.
- The average cost of detaining an immigrant is $95 per person / per day. Alternatives to detention, which often include a combination of reporting and electronic monitoring, are effective and significantly cheaper, with some programs costing as little as $12 per day.
- 80 to 90 % of immigrant detainees face immigration proceedings without any legal representation.
The Human Cost of US Immigration Detention
Each year, over a quarter million people are held in U.S. immigration detention. The vast majority of these people are incarcerated for administrative convenience. They are not serving criminal sentences, nor facing criminal charges. Some are refugees, who have entered our country in exercise of their legal right to seek asylum. Despite this, detainees are confined behind bars or barbed wire, separated from their families, deprived of basic freedoms and subjected to demeaning treatment. The growing use of detention is expensive, inhumane, and unnecessary. Reforms are needed to reduce the use of detention, to improve conditions for those detained and to mitigate the serious effects of detention on American families.
Non-Criminals Thrust into the Prison System
Fr. Tom Sheridan, S.J. celebrates
mass with detained women in New Jersey.
Too often spiritual care is
unavailable at detention facilities.
"These places were just awful, just awful. I called everyone I could think of. I said, 'Somebody's got to do something, he's sleeping on the floor in front of the toilet with no blanket or pillow, and he was like that for three days before he was ever allowed to use the phone.'" — Sondra, wife of a detainee
"The prison-like conditions of the detention center are very offensive to family and detainees as well. My husband is a degreed professional athlete whose only 'crime' was a visa overstay. [Visa violations] are civil offenses. The prison uniforms, visiting regulations where family members cannot touch each other or are on phone monitors are absolutely inhumane." — Nancy, wife of a detainee
The current U.S. detention system often results in prolonged confinement. Immigrants may be detained for months or even years as they undergo procedures to decide whether they can stay in the United States. The average period of detention is especially lengthy for asylum seekers.
A Note from the National Director
Dear Friends of JRS/USA:
In this issue of The Refugee Voice, we explore the experience of non-citizens caught in the U.S. immigration detention system. Some are asylum-seekers and refugees fleeing persecution. Some were apprehended while working without authorization. Others are permanent residents with visa violations or criminal records. The rising frequency with which the U.S. incarcerates and punishes non-citizens for minor infractions is cause for concern.
JRS/USA has witnessed the impact of the detention system on the detained and their loved ones. At four federal detention centers, our staff members work with clergy of diverse faiths to offer counseling and to facilitate religious activities.
Our experience has taught us that detention shatters families and destroys the lives of our neighbors and friends. This edition of The Refugee Voice invites you to step into the lives of detained immigrants and their suffering families.
We would especially like to express our thanks to the families who contributed to this edition of the newsletter.
Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J.