If it quacks like a duck it’s a prison

The official term for locations people are held awaiting immigration hearings is “detention centers” (e.g. Stewart Detention Center and Atlanta City Detention Center) and the people are referred to as “detainee”. But make no mistake, these are prisons, in many cases holding people with minor charges and on in some cases no charges at all pending against them. Crossing the border illegally the first time is misdemeanor; crossing the border at a checkpoint seeking asylum is not a crime at all. But like Alexandro’s son Ricky, who I wrote about a few days ago, many are held in these prison like conditions. Ricky was one of the lucky ones. His dad was able to get him out in 72 days.

On the short end, detainees will stay they four to five months awaiting their immigration hearings. On the longer end it can be 18 months or more.

I’ve had occasion two visit two jails in my life: first, the Chatham County Jail in Savannah, GA and the second, the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Neither were the Mayberry jail and Stewart felt much more like the latter.

No cameras, phones or any recording devices are allowed even on the grounds. I took a few snapshots from the car window as I was coming on the grounds, but these are not permitted. The school entrance looking picture on the ICE website is actually inside two layers of fencing and razor wire. I’ve added pictures approaching Stewart and in the parking area below.

After you pass through the razor wire fencing you enter the waiting area. It’s a small room with roughly a dozen chairs. You’re not allowed to bring a book or anything else to pass the time while you wait. Charity groups at one point brought coloring books and crayons for the guards to keep at the desk, but the guards removed them. I’d guess there were 5-6 children under 12 waiting to see their fathers. I’ve made the comment before that sometimes it’s just hard to be mean. To leave little kids in a hot crowded waiting room for hours and not allow them or their parents any way to keep the kids busy is just mean, and it’s got to make life more miserable for the guards, the parents and the other visitors, not to mention the kids.

For the detainees, I am sure it feels exactly like a prison. Aman said he gets one to two days a week out in the yard, for an hour or so a day. Other than that he has no exposure to natural light. All the detainee areas are inside the facility, with no access to natural daylight. Lights are never turned off, even during sleeping hours. Many of the detainees are required to work for as little as $4 per day. Remember, many of these detainees violated no laws and many more are accused only of misdemeanors.

Words matter. For a long time immigrant advocates have insisted on referring to the ICE facilities as “detention centers” and the immigrants as “detainees”, largely to avoid the stigma of calling them prisoners. But prisoners living in prisons is exactly what they are. And to call them that is not a reflection on them, it’s a reflection on America and each of us for allowing it to happen.