After receiving desperate phone calls from immigrant women detained at the Baker County jail in rural Florida, attorneys from Americans for Immigrant Justice decided to visit the facility. When the team arrived, however, the warden insisted the jail held no…
High walls, fences, locks, guards. These are the things that come to mind when we think about immigration detention, and justifiably so. The incarceration of migrants in jail-like facilities is a growing phenomenon worldwide and a serious concern due to…
Detention seriously harms virtually anyone who experiences it. Scientific studies of detained asylum seekers show that detention leads to the build-up of clinically significant symptoms of severe depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even self-harm. For nearly a decade JRS…
Alternatives to detention (ATDs) ‘work’ from the point of view of asylum seekers and refugees if they prevent unnecessary detention and other excessive restrictions, support individuals in seeking protection and achieving a swift resolution of their claims, and – if…
The development of alternatives to detention has become a significant global counter-trend to the normalisation of detaining migrants. Where alternatives have worked, they have relied on the engagement and participation of migrants themselves in immigration processes. Yet they have not…
On 19 September 2001, I was sitting on a plane from Abidjan to the UK. As I looked out the window, I thought that nothing worse than fighting against Charles Taylor’s army at home in Liberia could happen to me.…
The United States’ immigration enforcement system sees deterrence as the most sustainable means of maintaining control of migrant populations, regardless of push/pull factors. Within this framework, forced migrants may face federal criminal prosecution, prison sentences, and deportation for being in…
Detention can lead to violations of the entire spectrum of human rights – from civil and political rights to economic, social and cultural rights. Prolonged detention can cause severe psychological and physical health problems which have long-term costs both for…
The experience of being held in detention centres – ‘held detention’ – has had a negative and long-lasting impact on the mental health and well-being of many of the men, women and children seeking asylum in Australia. Factors such as…
An alternative to detention programme is generally understood as a means for government bodies to track non-citizens without incurring all of the costs and rights violations associated with immigration detention. These programmes are by and large less expensive than formal…