News & Commentary

There are children in cages along the U.S.-Mexico border right now. And more are showing up every day.

While immigration detention is supposed to be “civil” detention, as opposed to incarceration as punishment for a crime, the conditions that immigrants experience are anything but civil. People detained by ICE are bused daily to immigration court wearing jumpsuits and metal handcuffs, belly chains, and leg irons in San Francisco.

While we await much-needed federal immigration reform, dozens of counties are refusing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) requests to detain immigrants in local jails.

Last May Day, hundreds of Fresno residents took to the streets to ask for a path to citizenship for the 11 million people forced to live in the shadows by our broken immigration system. There was momentum in Congress for comprehensive immigration and the Senate later managed to approve a comprehensive immigration reform bill. We were all so hopeful.

Hard to believe, but until recently, all detained immigrants appearing in the civil immigration court in San Francisco were forced to give critical testimony while restrained by shackles and chains at the wrists, waist, and ankles. The inhumane practice was particularly problematic for asylum seekers and immigrants who had suffered from torture and domestic violence in the past—and it was unnecessary since the majority of immigrant detainees appearing in civil court proceedings are peaceful individuals.

Audley Barrington Lyon, Jr. is currently in immigration detention while he fights deportation to Jamaica. A “U visa” is a beacon of hope for Mr. Lyon, who was an innocent bystander when he was seriously injured in shooting. A U visa—available to crime victims who cooperate with criminal investigations—would give him the opportunity to stay in the country with his U.S. citizen wife. Unfortunately, he doesn’t stand a fighting chance.

The ACLU-NC mourns the death of Kathryn Korematsu, a teacher, organizer, and tenacious advocate for civil liberties. We came to know Kathryn as the unwavering supporter of her husband, Fred Korematsu, who was represented by the ACLU-NC in his challenge to the World War II internment of Japanese Americans.

Over the course of 26 months, the federal government wasted over $100,000 to incarcerate this grandmother of eight with no serious or violent criminal history. Every day, U.S. Customs and Immigration is forced to fill 34,000 beds in the immigration prison system -- regardless of how many people actually warrant detention. This policy is wasteful and inhumane.

The ACLU of Northern California urges Santa Clara County to keep its current immigration detainer policy and to reject the District Attorney's recommendation to adopt a policy that would allow enforcement of immigration detainers under certain circumstances.