Hard Facts of Immigrant Detention Centers | Sojourners

Hard Facts of Immigrant Detention Centers

The AP recently published a fascinating look at the hard facts about immigrant detention centers. My firsthand experience at a local maximum security jail, which doubles as an immigrant detention center, affirmed what I read in the article: The system in place is costly and isn't targeting hardened criminals. According to the AP's data analysis of all detainees in custody, on Jan. 25, 58% did not have any criminal conviction. Among the 32,000 detained on any given day are people such as Sarjina Emy, a college-bound 20-year-old detained for nearly two years because her parents' claim for asylum was denied when she was a child.

"Justice is not being served," she said.

I highly recommend reading the article for its hard and honest look at the cracked system of due process as applied to immigration law.

Allison JohnsonAllison Johnson is the campaign coordinator of Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Her commentary "Shackling the Stranger" appears in the April issue of Sojourners.

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