Detention and Deportation of Illegal Immigrants: Law vs. Morality

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Detention and Deportation of Illegal Immigrants: Law vs. Morality
Every country seeks to protect its borders from illegal immigrants. Likewise, the United States has federal laws that guide immigration into the state. Illegal immigration in the US refers to the process of relocating into the country in a manner that violates the Federal immigration laws. It includes the foreign nationals who have gained unlawful entry into the US as well as those that legally moved into the country but overstayed long after their parole documents or entry visas have expired. It is estimated that about 7 million immigrants entered the US illegally, while more than 4 million people used legal permissions to enter the country but overstayed after the expiration of their documents. The suspects of illegal immigration or visa violations are usually apprehended in over in more than 200 detention centers in different parts of the US. During this period, the immigration authorities decide whether the immigrants will be deported to their home country or will be offered visas and released into the US community. The immigration policy dictates for compulsory detention of suspects of illegal migration. The main problem in the detention of illegal immigrants lies in the privatization of detention facilities to make profits (Knorr 85). The detainees suffer in these facilities because they live under demoralizing conditions. Private corporations horde resources and detain more migrants to maximize profits. Besides, they detain even children in a dirty environment increasing their chances of developing health complications. Physical and sexual assaults are also rampant in the facilities.
Belli et al. (42) argue that compulsory detention of suspects is a very controversial topic in the United States. They further assert that advocates for human rights are against this process, claiming that it violates the immigrants' rights while the immigration authorities claim that it is a necessary process to ensure the security of every American. However, it is still not clear whether compulsory detention help in promoting safety because authorities apprehend even children, women, and refugee immigrants that are seeking political asylum in the United States (Dauvergne 78). Children, for instance, are known not to cause any harm. Detaining children reduces the quality of life they live and deprives them of a happy childhood. Seeking political asylum is not a crime but a quest for safety and a better life. Besides, some of the immigrant detention centers have poor living conditions that go against human rights. Activists and advocates for human rights question whether the federal government enforces laws at the expense of morality and respect for human existence.
Private corporations run most of the immigrant detention facilities in the United States. According to the data released by the Federal government, more than 60% of the illegal immigrants are apprehended in private detention centers. There are two prison companies (CoreCivic & GEO Group) that run the highest share of the privately-owned immigrant detention facilities in the US. In October 2019, the Washing Post reported that these ‘prison giants' were thriving and profiting from President Trump's immigration policies. It also indicated that the stock of these two companies was skyrocketing, therefore, attracting more investors (Washington Post n.p). The problem of monetizing these detention centers is that the private corporations focus more on making profits rather than on the lives of the detainees. The immigration suspects are crammed in limited space under dehumanizing conditions to maximize the benefits. Instead of protecting them as they await the decision of the courts, these immigrants are forced to use limited resources.
Detention of foreign nationals can help in prevention social problems that are linked to illegal migration. In the past, some illegal immigrants have been reported to smuggle illicit drugs such as narcotics and marijuana. By detaining illegal immigrants, the Federal government tries to eliminate drug smugglers in the United States borders (Lopez 120). It was also noted that some illegal immigrants in the country had committed crimes in their home countries. In addition, the federal government claims that apprehending illegal immigrants protects them from human trafficking and exploitation by the locals. Some proponents of private detention facilities claim that private organizations reduce the cost per person of sustaining illegal migrants in the centers. They further assert that private detention firms relieve the Federal government the burden of managing the increasing number of illegal migrants in the United States (Hernández 137). However, this may not be true because some federal prisons in the uses much fewer resources person but the inmates of such prisons live in better conditions compared to most of the illegal immigrants detaining centers. According to a report published by the Phew Research Center, an average federal prison uses $94.82 per day while the private illegal migrant centers claim to spend $ 89.3 per detainee per pay. The study also indicated that there was a slight difference in the costs per person of the Federal prison and the private detention centers but there was a huge disparity in the resources delivered in these centers (Enns et al. 559). The illegal immigrant detention centers owned by private organizations delivered very limited resources to their detainees.
The Federal government still maintains that the detention of illegal immigrants is vital in ensuring national security and for the benefit of illegal immigrants. Despite these positive claims that they linked to compulsory detention of illegal immigrants, privatizing and monetizing has worsened situations within the detention centers (Gaes 270). Besides, the number of detainees has increased since President Trump came to power due to his strict policies against illegal immigration into the United States. The rapid increase in the number of detainees is also encouraged by the profits ripped from the detention facilities by the private firms that run them. More detainees mean an increase in profit margins. These private organizations detain many migrants but use minimal resources and keep surplus as profits (Hernández 137). Between 2016 and 2019, the populations of illegal immigrants that have been apprehended have increased from 35000 to 50000 people. Therefore the detention centers are overcrowded due to the ever-growing numbers of detainees (Knorr 88). Many detainees are forced to share one room and live in very unhygienic conditions. For instance, when CNN interviewed Dr. Sarah Goza, who had visited two of the immigrant detention centers, she said that the smell of feces, sweat, and urine was the first thing that hit them when they walked into the doors of the facilities. She also admitted that no amount of time could be spent within the detention centers that are safe or suitable for the migrant children (CNN n.p). The migrant captives have also testified that they are served very little food that is poorly cooked. Some facilities do not have enough clean drinking water, but if it is available, the water was brown, dirty and unsuitable for drinking. Most of these detention centers are infrequently cleaned; this further worsens the conditions within those facilities (Mc Kenzie 2019).
Women and children suffer the most in migrant detention facilities. Children experience health problems due to poor dietary and unhygienic conditions in the detention centers. Accessing quality healthcare is also tricky when the migrants are held in detention centers. Women mostly suffer from sexual assaults from the guards. Between 2012 and 2017, 1448 cases of sexual aggression in the detention facilities were reported to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A study conducted by USA Today also indicated that 40% of sexual assault cases in the migrant facilities go unreported. Men, on the other hand, experience very few instances of sexual harassment (Ewing et al. 342). However, most of them are physically attacked by the guards. Some men in the United States detention centers confessed that life in those facilities was tough because of the attacks by the guards, most of which go unreported because of fear and blackmail. These assaults have raised moral concerns in the country. Critics have linked detention to the erosion of ethical culture...