吃瓜大本营

In the 1980s, fewer than 2,000 people were locked up in an immigration detention facility on an average day in America. 

Since then, that number has skyrocketed, quadrupling from 7,475 to 32,985 people detained by ICE per day between 1995 and 2016. Under the administration of President Donald Trump, the numbers have shot up even higher 鈥� at one point last year, a staggering 56,000 people were behind bars each night in an ICE detention facility. When asylum-seekers and other migrants in Customs and Border Protection facilities are included, the total figure rises to nearly 80,000 people detained by the U.S. government per day.

This explosive growth of the U.S. immigration detention system tracks the rise of mass incarceration in America, prompted by punitive legislation passed by Congress in the mid-1990s around the same time as the infamous 鈥�,鈥� and later through a massive post-9/11 expansion. Since then, the number of detained immigrants in the U.S. has grown nearly every year under Democratic and Republican administrations alike. Now, it鈥檚 a sprawling prison system, with 40 new immigration detention centers opening their doors just since the beginning of the Trump presidency alone. 

For immigrants caught in this system, life is often a nightmare of , , , , to other facilities across the country, , and long periods spent away from family members and loved ones.
 
The COVID-19 crisis once again on the abuse and neglect that is deeply embedded in these detention facilities. While the rest of the country hunkered down in their homes, immigrants in detention have been forced to confront the pandemic in cramped conditions without adequate cleaning protocols or in some cases even basic sanitation supplies like soap. Guards have against immigrants protesting those conditions, and ICE has resisted efforts to secure their release for public health reasons.

A combination of lawsuits and public pressure eventually forced ICE to release from detention because of concerns over the spread of COVID-19 between mid-March and early May. Legal actions brought by the ACLU have secured the release of more than 450 people so far. But there are still more than 21,000 people in immigration detention 鈥� a drop since last year鈥檚 high that is largely attributable to a near-total shutdown of the southern border.
 
Whenever a new administration takes office, it will inherit an immigration detention system that has become an out-of-control, wasteful, and cruel behemoth. Drastically reducing the number of people trapped inside that system will be a crucial first step towards establishing a more humane and responsible immigration policy.
 
In recent weeks, the ACLU interviewed a number of immigrants who were released from detention due to concerns over the COVID-19 crisis. They shared the following stories of what it was like to be incarcerated in an immigration detention facility during the pandemic.
 
*Note: interviews have been condensed and edited.

JESUS

鈥淢y mother and father had been here for a long time. When I was 7, she came to pick us up in Mexico, and we crossed somewhere in Arizona. I鈥檝e been here ever since then.
 
鈥淎t a young age I started working in restaurants. When I got to high school, in my mind I said, 鈥極kay, what鈥檚 going to happen?鈥� I can鈥檛 get financial aid, at that point there was no DACA, so I wound up dropping out. I can鈥檛 complain about it because I became a plumber, which is what I鈥檝e been for the past 18 years.
 
鈥淢y wife is an American citizen, and my kids were all born here. I鈥檝e never been to Mexico. I mean even though it鈥檚 my country, it鈥檚 a strange country. I鈥檝e been here all my life. I have an 18-year-old daughter, along with a 10-year-old, a 7-year-old, and my son, who鈥檚 5.
 
鈥淲e recently moved to Pennsylvania, where I purchased a property to fix up and started working with a real estate company. We鈥檙e trying to build a future for our kids.
 
鈥淚 was already on ICE鈥檚 radar from a DUI in 2010. They picked me up at my house on April 2, 2019. I came out to warm up the car to bring my kids to school, when an officer grabbed me by my neck. They showed me their badge, which said ICE, and I realized they鈥檇 come for me.
 
鈥淚 told my wife to contact my lawyer because she was begging them, you know, saying 鈥楬e didn鈥檛 do anything wrong. Why are you taking him?鈥� The kids were crying. It was very sad, but I asked my wife not to beg them. They took me to Pike County [Correctional Facility], and that鈥檚 when it started.
 
鈥淲hen you first get there, you鈥檙e nervous. You don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen. So it鈥檚 very scary. You have people in there that get so stressed that they break down.
 
鈥淎nd if they see that they send you to the nurse, who asks, 鈥楬ow are you feeling? Are you stressed?鈥� Well yes, of course.
 
鈥淏ut if you start answering the questions honestly, all of a sudden they put you in what they call the turtle suit,* because they鈥檙e afraid you're going to hurt yourself. So then you鈥檙e locked up in solitary for two or three days while they observe you. It makes it so much worse. You can't contact your family. It鈥檚 really sad.
 
鈥淪eeing your family through glass is hard. I told my wife after the first time she visited me that unless the kids really want to come, I don鈥檛 want you to bring them. It鈥檚 like you鈥檙e in there trying to distract yourself and once you see each other it鈥檚 like reopening a wound that鈥檚 closing.
 
鈥淥nce COVID started going we started hearing rumors that it was already in other cell blocks. The [ICE staff] kept on quitting. They were overworked always, but once COVID hit forget it, they were understaffed. It came to a point where we鈥檇 be on lockdown for 23 and a half hours a day.
 
鈥淚鈥檓 high risk 鈥� I have high blood pressure and asthma 鈥� so they released me. When I got into the car, me and my kids just started hugging each other and crying. As a child I went through so much domestic violence. I didn鈥檛 want my kids to go through anything like that so I鈥檝e always spent as much time as I can with them.
 
鈥淣ot being with them for a whole year was extremely hard, and seeing them again was the most amazing thing. And here we are, you know. Trying to push forward.
 
鈥淚鈥檓 only out because of the coronavirus. Once it鈥檚 over, I鈥檓 scared that they might come and pick me up again.鈥�

*An 鈥渁nti-suicide smock鈥� that resembles a straitjacket.

ADRIAN AND YASMANI

Adrian: 鈥淏efore I left, I was in charge of sending doctors on mission trips to other countries.鈥�
 
Yasmani: 鈥淚 worked at a radio and television agency, organizing programs and broadcasters for the night schedule.
 
鈥淲e left Cuba for Guyana, traveling to Brazil and then up through the Americas into Mexico. We were in Tijuana for months until our numbers were called so we could turn ourselves in at the border in San Ysidro [outside of San Diego, CA].鈥�
 
A: 鈥淎fter being detained in a border detention center known as a 鈥榟ielera,鈥� we were transferred to the Otay Mesa detention center. It was horrible there, like another world. When the coronavirus started, we went on a hunger strike because they weren鈥檛 giving us masks. [The guards] started attacking us. They would show up dressed all in black with tear-gas guns and threaten us, saying go back to your rooms.
 
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to; we wanted to be taken out of there. We did things right, waiting for the process in Mexico only to be treated like that. They didn鈥檛 care. They had masks and we didn鈥檛.
 
鈥淭hey took away about seven people from our pod, because a guard had coronavirus. He would take his mask off and walk around coughing. After he stopped coming to work for about two weeks, they placed our pod in quarantine.
 
鈥淓veryone realized that our pod had coronavirus and that鈥檚 when we started worrying more. We were trapped in there, but they didn鈥檛 adopt any measures; they didn鈥檛 give us anything and we couldn鈥檛 keep any distance. In fact, if someone got sick, they would take that person out of the pod for a week and after that they would bring the person back. As someone who is HIV positive, I feared I would not survive if I got sick in there.鈥�
 
Y: 鈥淎fter being released, we felt good to breathe fresh air again. But in my case, I also feel bad because I have an ankle monitor on 鈥� you feel like you鈥檙e still a prisoner. They call you at night at all times and again at dawn. During the process, you can鈥檛 work. We don鈥檛 have jobs, and we aren鈥檛 independent.
 
鈥淏ut I think, if we made it this far, it was God鈥檚 will 鈥� we just need to wait it out until the process happens.鈥�

NAHOM

鈥淚 came here when I was 8 years old, from Eritrea with my family in 1998. We had gone through a lot of war, turmoil, and civil unrest. We were able to come to the United States as lawful permanent residents thanks to literal miracles from relatives here, and I鈥檝e been here ever since.
 
鈥淚n 2007, I was diagnosed with Crohn鈥檚 disease. In the span of a few weeks, I went from weighing 200 pounds to 140. It altered my life completely. I was taking pain medications and anxiety medications. What got me into trouble with immigration was prescription fraud.
 
鈥淚 took a plea bargain because I thought it wouldn鈥檛 affect me in a negative way. I wasn鈥檛 thinking about immigration, I was just thinking about my parents back home. She鈥檚 78, and he鈥檚 91, and I needed to take care of them. They didn鈥檛 inform me it would affect me like this.
 
鈥淚mmigration picked me up from the jail and brought me to the York County Prison.
 
鈥淭he food there made me sick because of my Crohn鈥檚 disease, and I started losing weight. I couldn鈥檛 see a full-fledged doctor, just nurse practitioners. They didn鈥檛 really understand my condition, and it took awhile for them to get my medication. They treat you like you鈥檙e the scum of the earth. What I heard from other people as well is that they would treat a severe issue as if it was something to put a Band-Aid on.
 
鈥淲hen COVID started, people went on hunger strike because the guards had masks, but we didn鈥檛 have anything. And they鈥檇 just wear them when they felt like it.
 
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 offer us anything until people stopped eating. It took a long time. There had already been a confirmed case in the jail, and they hadn鈥檛 done anything about it.
 
鈥淚 was amazed to get out. It was a literal miracle. I could properly take care of myself and have some sort of control over my life and health.
 
鈥淚 went straight to my mom and dad鈥檚. They cried. They had thought the worst, since I鈥檝e never been that long without them before. They were happy, but they were crying and worried at the same time.鈥�

ALEJANDRA

鈥淏efore turning myself over to immigration, I was waiting in Nogales, Mexico. I had trouble with the mafia there, and they cut off the thumb on my right hand. They told me to leave and that they didn鈥檛 want to see me again. I was in very bad shape, bleeding so much.
 
鈥淚 told a social worker that I was really scared and being followed, so she took me to [Border Patrol], and they said if I was in danger I should present myself at the port of entry.
 
鈥淔rom Nogales they took me to the Eloy Detention Center, still in Arizona. At Eloy, they don鈥檛 have special conditions for trans women. They have us mixed in with the men. We suffered a lot of discrimination and abuse, but thankfully it didn鈥檛 go beyond that. 
 
鈥淓ventually I was transferred to La Palma [Correctional Center]. When the coronavirus situation first happened people were all crammed together, with no face coverings. They didn鈥檛 give us hand sanitizer or gloves, none of that. The [corrections officers] would work and cough, without any face coverings or protection. And they come from the outside while we are inside. I think that鈥檚 how people.
 
鈥淎 lot of people complained, but that鈥檚 when you realize they don鈥檛 care what you say. ICE said our right was to shut our mouths, take it, and wait for our turn to get out or be deported.
 
鈥淲hen they told me I was getting out, I was so happy, because I鈥檇 been detained for nearly a year. I鈥檓 doing really well with my sponsors now, they鈥檙e beautiful people. They treat me very well. After so much struggling, here I am.鈥�

ROGELIO

鈥淲hen I first arrived, for about three years, I worked at pizzerias and restaurants. Now I work in construction. I like to spend time with my family and study English 鈥� that鈥檚 my hobby.
 
鈥淚t was just a day like any other. I was on my way to work at my construction job when ICE stopped us 鈥� they said it was a routine check, and that鈥檚 when they caught me.
 
鈥淚n detention, they give you a manual of what the rules are. They claim that you can go out in the courtyard and have fun or whatever, but it鈥檚 a lie. There鈥檚 no courtyard. I wouldn鈥檛 wish detention on my worst enemy because it truly is horrible. Some of the officers were very kind, but others just mess with you. One night my face and teeth were hurting and I told one of them I needed a painkiller. He said, 鈥業f you don鈥檛 go to bed, I鈥檓 going to put a mark on your record and send you to the hole.鈥�
 
鈥淲e saw the news about the virus and started getting worried, because they were still bringing people in off the streets. We got scared when some people inside started having dry coughs. We were in bunk beds, all together, and couldn鈥檛 keep distance. There were a lot of sick people. I couldn鈥檛 say whether they had coronavirus or not, but they were rushed to the detention infirmary for eight, nine, 10 days. Some didn鈥檛 come back, and we never found out what happened to them. That鈥檚 when we got really scared, because we didn鈥檛 know what was going on.
 
鈥淲hen I was detained, my wife was six months pregnant. I wasn鈥檛 there for the birth of my first-born child. That鈥檚 what I cared about 鈥� being with them. When I was released, he was about two weeks old.
 
鈥淚 was really happy, because I felt like I鈥檇 been in a contagion zone. I wouldn鈥檛 like to go back, and I wouldn鈥檛 wish it on anybody.鈥�

DAMARY

鈥淚 flew from Cuba to Nicaragua and then traveled by bus through Honduras, Guatemala, and then Mexico. I crossed the border, and immediately turned myself over to Border Patrol. From there, I was sent to detention in McAllen, Texas for several  days and then was transferred to Michigan where I remained for months until my release.
 
鈥淚 traveled by plane with my hands and feet in shackles. They said in case of an emergency you had to put on your life vest and oxygen mask, but if anything had happened I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do it because of the shackles.
 
鈥淚 won鈥檛 say they treated me badly 鈥� nobody beat me 鈥� but I suffered a lot while detained. I had never been in prison before that, and everyone suffers there.
 
鈥淚 have high blood pressure and gastritis, so the coronavirus was a big worry for me because I鈥檓 a vulnerable person. If I were to catch the virus, I would be in more danger than most.
 
鈥淲e were at risk, some people there didn鈥檛 wear masks and they could infect us. Not everyone practiced social distancing around us. We were all very worried, and every day we became more vulnerable to catching the virus. But a person who is afraid to go back to their country and wants to fight for political asylum has to wait as long as it takes.
 
鈥淲hen I was released, I was so happy. I didn鈥檛 know what to do so I cried and laughed. Now I鈥檓 home with relatives complying with all the immigration proceedings. But I know a lot of people who are still there are at risk and suffering. People that I came to care about a lot since we were there together for so long. It鈥檚 very painful.鈥�