By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

Immigration detention centers have seen several detainee deaths. (Photo: Univision.com/AFP)
Immigration detention centers have seen several detainee deaths. (Photo: Univision.com/AFP)

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced this week it will hold a hearing on conditions at detention centers for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. The hearings come after a series of detainee deaths prompted complaints from immigrant and civil rights organizations.

According to a story on Univision.com, the commission –which is part of the Organization of American States (OAS)– expects to publish a report on immigration detention centers later this year.

Santiago Cantón, the commission’s executive secretary, said at a press conference Tuesday that his panel has requested U.S. government authorization to visit some of the detention centers, but negotiations stalled over conditions for the visits.

The hearing will be held on Friday, March 20th, at OAS Washington headquarters, according to the official schedule for the IACHR’s 134th period of sessions.

The case of the detainees will be presented by the Transnational Legal Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law.

According to Cantón, the schools’ involvement and the hearing itself might help convince the U.S. government to allow the commission to visit the jails.

A recent Government Accounting Office report said the detention centers display bureaucratic deficiencies, medical personnel under staffing, slow response times to medical emergencies and poor food quality, according to a recent special report on Univision.com.

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked Congress to pass a law that would increase supervision of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and improve the treatment of immigration detainees.

Ninety immigrants have died in detention since 2003, according to the ACLU.

Some of the more high-profile deaths –like those of Guido Newbrough in Virginia and Hiu Lui ‘Jason’ Ng in Rhode Island— have brought attention to the plight of detainees.

But others are shrouded in secrecy, ACLU attorney Monica Ramirez told Univision.com.

“We don’t know all the causes for those deaths,” she said. “The government doesn’t give out information and many times we learn about what happened through families’ accounts.”

Diego Graglia is a bilingual multimedia journalist who has worked at major media outlets in the U.S. and Latin America. He is currently the editor-in-chief at Expansion, Meixco’s leading business magazine.

8 replies on “Organization of American States To Hold Hearing On Immigrant Detention Conditions In The U.S.”

  1. WHY DONT YOU CHECK MEXICOS HOLDING FACILITIES OUT? BEFORE YOU START JUDGEING AMERICAS OR IS THAT ASKING TO MUCH?AT LEAST AMERICA FEEDS AND HOUSES THEM ALSO CLOTHES NEVER SEEN ANY RUNNING AROUND NAKED?LETS CHECK THE COMPLAINERS OUT THEN COMPARE WITH AMERICAN FACILITIES? AN AMERICAN>P.S. WHY DOES MEXICO SEND THEM OVER AMERICA DID NOT ASK FOR THEM?

  2. Have any of you ever been in a Mexican Jail?

    If you live you are very lucky.

    Your family paid dearly for your life.

  3. According to this article, ninety people died while in custody over a six year period. That is equal to 15 per year. Unless more information is provided, the death of those ninety people could be related to other causes. That number is still small compared to the hundres of thousands held each year in detention until they are deported back to their native countries.

    Now compared those 15 people who die each year to the 3,000 murders and the 4,000 who die EACH YEAR on our roadway by illegal immigrants, there is no comparison. In many cases, the illegal immigrants has no insurance and is driving under the influence.

    Now comparing 15 to 7,000 each year, what is the US Government and OAS doing to solve the illegal immigration problem facing America. One other note, that 7,000 is more than the 4,200 who died in Iraq over the last few years.

    I rest my case.

  4. As a former INS and ICE Agent, I can tell you one thing about detention standards. ICE has handcuffed itself with all the rules they have, a county jail that is good enough for American citizens would be hard pressed to meet the standards required to get a ICE contract, most places can not hold ICE detainees. Illegal Aliens are treated better than US citizens! This is just a attempt to make it impossible for ICE to do its job, these groups just want to end the detention of illegal aliens, so they may roam our streets to commit even more crimes. There are 90 plus County jails in my State, yet only 3 or 4 are approved to hold illegal aliens.

  6. Dear sirs:

    I am Horn of african illegal immigrants in libya and I would like to inform u is that Liubya is very hard country for illegal imigrants to cross to Italy and there are more than 20,000 illegal immigarants jailed now without any sort of crime.

    Italy deporting now to the Libyan Gov and what is the fate of afro immigrnas fate/

    Is their any fortune for our whos problem in thier home land?

    once a police catch asks to release 800$

    plz forward whoi one it applies to.

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