Increase in Deaths in Immigration Detention

The detention of immigrants has increased dramatically since the 1996 immigration reforms.  This development has been criticized at many different levels, from the high costs to the poor conditions of confinement.  The NY Times reports (here) that 62 immigrants died in administrative custody since 2004, according to a new tally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that counted many more deaths than the 20 previously known. “No government body is charged with accounting for deaths in immigration detention, a patchwork of county jails, privately run prisons and federal facilities where more than 27,500 people who are not American citizens are held on any given day while the government decides whether to deport them.”

KJ