Tortured and Detained: Survivor Stories of US Immigration Detention,
A recent report by the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) and the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition International (TASSC), Tortured and Detained: Survivor Stories of US Immigration Detention, chronicles the stories of asylum seekers and details the physical and psychological agonies of detention.
As they flee for their lives, most survivors of torturecarry the heavy weight of multiple and cumulativetraumas in addition to the on-going traumaticexperiences that can be associated with being arefugee. Receiving asylum in the United States can bea lifeline to safety and provide a path to healing butwhen asylum seekers arrive at a U.S. border or portof entry, they are frequently shocked at the treatmentthey endure upon reaching “safety” and “protection,”as they are arrested, shackled, and confined. Thisreport estimates that in less than three years – fromOctober 2010 to February 2013 – the United Statesdetained approximately 6,000 survivors of torture asthey were seeking asylum protection.
In conducting interviews with asylum seekers andsurvivors of torture who have been held in immigrationdetention, the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT)and the Torture Abolition Survivor Support Coalition,International (TASSC) found that asylum seekers areoften in disbelief that they have been criminalized byvirtue of trying to find protection. They describe feelingdehumanized by the conditions under which theyare held—both in short-term holding cells managedby U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and inthe detention centers used by U.S. Immigration andCustoms Enforcement (ICE). They recall the utter stateof confusion and isolation they feel as they are heldwith limited access to information about their situationand without knowledge of when—or if—they will bereleased. Moreover, while in custody, many suffer anon-going sense of dread at the possibility they maybe returned to the country in which they experiencedtorture and/or other forms of persecution and/or inwhich they fear being subjected to future torture orother forms of persecution.
Detention is a daunting experience for anyone butparticularly egregious for survivors of torture. Given the extreme hardship, particularly in light of lessexpensive and more humane alternatives, survivorsof torture should not be detained. Nevertheless, whenthey are, ICE should seek to facilitate their safe andsupported release as soon as possible, including byensuring they have access to legal information andlegal counsel at every step along the way.and trauma, the fact of being detained at all is oftenretraumatizing. Further, particular elements inherent inthe detention experience—including a profound senseof powerlessness and loss of control—may recapitulatethe torture experience. Beyond this, the indefinitenature of immigration detention is a blanket over it all,contributing to severe, chronic emotional distress.
This report offers several recommendations of stepsthat Congress, the Department of Homeland Securityand the Department of Justice can take to mitigate. For further discussion of the report, click here.
KJ