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Fifty-four thousand, the average number of migrants detained daily at the US-Mexico border in the fiscal year 2020. 54,000 people, lives, dreams, stories. Numbers like these are difficult to conceptualize given their dimension. With such a huge range, one tends to forget that out of that statistic, every single unit represents a unique reason, a unique name, a unique purpose. It is impossible to account for and understand so many narratives, and under that perspective, these migrants have morphed into simply that, numbers, statistics; but it is vital to make the conscious effort to move away from the numbers and understand the true meaning of what is seen on the news. We often hear the words detention, migrants, border, aliens, all such general and non-descriptive terms that have expanded to hold too much power, too much relevance.
Migration from Central American countries to the United States is not a new phenomenon. The numbers of migrants began rising after the era of civil wars in the 1980s, driving thousands of people from countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua in search for better living conditions. After surviving economic instability, violence, persecution, hunger, and displacement, many of these migrants turned to the United States as a land of prospering futures, bright billboards, full supermarkets, safe neighborhoods, everything they did not have. According to Migration Policy the numbers of immigrants in the United States tippled between 1980 and 1990. As the Civil wars in Central American countries ended, hope for stability and security flourished, but with little results as corrupt governments and weak institutions started controlling the respective countries. Despite believing that the number of immigrants would decrease during this new period of peace, migrants continued to trickle into the United States hoping to escape their turbulent pasts. The people trying to enter the United States were quickly labeled as immigrants, without realizing that they were also refugees. The United States has long since asserted itself as a thriving economic power house, and, as stated by Rochester, its shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy led to a demand for workers, and given that the people of these Central American countries needed the employment, they did everything they needed to do to be able to support their families. The Northern Triangle of Central America, comprised Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala demonstrated a sharp increase in numbers of immigrants, around 25% between 2007 and 2015.
It is important to consider, however, the challenges that increased migration provide to a governmental system. With rising numbers of people trying to settle in the United States without proper documentations, immigration systems have been under immense pressure. Many people entering the United States do so as a result of growing violence in their respective country, but this unfortunately is not always enough to grant an individual asylum status. The only situation in which this would be permissible would be under political violence, therefore, the combination of living under violent and dangerous climates but the inability to migrate legally, led to a rise in illegal immigration. Daniel Reichman, a professor of anthropology at the University of Rochester highlights that the shift from few numbers of undocumented migrants to overwhelming swarms of people caused a strain in the immigration system, saying that the “demand for legal immigrant visas far outstrips supply.” This causes a ripple effect given that obtaining refugee status has become more difficult, and parents and guardians have started making the impossible decision of sending minors across the border by themselves, believing that this will give their children a better opportunity to applying for refugee status and making it into the United States. Despite the one-sided argument that statistics provide, the numbers of unaccompanied minors reaching the Mexico-US border are outstanding, culminating in over 76,000 in 2019.
However, the other side of the narrative is even more concerning. In the summer months of 2019, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General reported that the detention centers that housed immigrants on the United States and Mexico border “failed to meet federal standards.” In other words, hygiene and food standards were null, overcrowding and prolonged detention were widespread and there were even cases of wrongful detention. Detention at the border was established in order to control the influx of illegal immigration into the United States. Immigration authorities keep immigrants in said facilities as they wait for a hearing which determines whether they can enter the United States legally. These detention facilities have been a long source of debate, as many argue that they are prisons for people who have not committed any crime. The Guardian says, “Detention, once reserved only for those who threatened public safety or posed a flight risk, is now ubiquitous.” On average, migrants stay in these detention centers from one to four weeks, with the result being deportation or visas. However, more and more often, stories of increased detention have sparked rage in the media, most clearly seen in the report published by the BBC. The article narrates the story of a nine-year-old Salvadorian migrant who has spent over 500 days at an immigration facility. There is a 20-day limit on detaining under-age migrants imposed by the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997, but this rule seems to have blurred with the passage of time. Unfortunately, the story of this little girl is no longer an exception but a growing reality as in November 2020 the stories of 28 children who have spent more than 15 months in detention facilities were exposed by migrant rights groups. Furthermore, it is not only detention duration that has showcased how broken the American immigration system is, it is estimated that around 545 children have to be reunited with their parents after being separated as a result of the detention system. Countless others had to endure days, weeks, months, in a strange place, completely alone, under the watchful eye of intimidating security until they were finally able to see their parents and guardians once more.
In addition to fetid living conditions, through mediums like Freedom For Migrants, people staying at detention centers have reported a plethora of abuses ranging from medical issues or lack of access to medical health to sexual assault. Not all the immigration centers are government controlled, there are significant amounts of private entities that manage privately-run immigrant prisons. Freedom For Immigrants states that over 70% of undocumented immigrants are detained in said privatized centers. In an alarming report, FFI says that, the GEO Group received over 184 million dollars for “immigration detention related service obligations.” The Guardian supports this claim by stating that in 2018, companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group, which are private prison companies, earned around 25% of their overall profits directly from ICE. It is incredible to think that private companies are gaining profit and growing as a result of the suffering of thousands of immigrants. It is believed that ICE has spent over 250 million dollars in contracts with the GEO Group who has now become the most prominent figure in the private prison business.
The issue of illegal immigration and detention has been up for debate for decades, and there is no clear resolution in sight. Balancing this complex issue takes planning and understanding not only of political policies, but of ethics, morality, of the value of stories and motivations. A solution without understanding what immigrants go through will not be a solution at all. There is hope that there will be a shift in the detention methodology with President Biden’s administration, but the eyes of the world are on the border, rooting for prosperous futures, safety, and peace.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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