August 25, 1999
August 25, 1999
Contact HRF Communications (212) 845 5245 media@humanrightsfirst.orgHuman Rights First Releases Report
Criticizing U.S. Detention Practices
for Asylum SeekersNew York, August 25, 1999 – The parole system for asylum seekers is deeply flawed, Human Rights First said in a report released today that assesses the INS’s parole system for asylum seekers in the wake of the 1996 immigration law’s "expedited removal" procedures.
"Those who flee to our shores seeking protection from persecution are handcuffed, shackled and routinely spend months or longer in prisons or detention facilities," said Eleanor Acer, Senior Coordinator of Human Rights First’s Asylum Program. "The parole system is plagued by inconsistencies, a lack of accountability, and unjust results. As currently implemented, it is inconsistent with American traditions of justice and our international obligations to protect refugees."
Titled "Refugees Behind Bars: The Imprisonment of Asylum Seekers in the Wake of the 1996 Immigration Act," the report documents numerous shortcomings in U.S. law, policy and practice which have resulted in the unnecessary detention of asylum seekers. The report calls on the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Department of Justice and the Congress to take decisive action to fix the problem and to ensure the operation of a fair and effective parole system for asylums seekers – a system that should include regulatory safeguards and independent review of INS detention determinations.
"Refugees Behind Bars" raises particular concerns about the parole practices in New York and New Jersey where two of the largest detention facilities for arriving asylum seekers are housed. Last year, and again earlier this month, asylum seekers at the Wackenhut detention facility in Queens, New York participated in hunger-strikes protesting the length of detention and lack of parole at the facility. Last fall, asylum seekers at the detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey launched a hunger-strike to protest restrictive parole policies.
"Many have fled to this country because they believed that it is the land of liberty and the protector of the persecuted," said Acer. "Some are survivors of torture. Instead, they have found themselves behind bars in the land that they believed would protect them." Among the problems highlighted by the report are the inhumane conditions of detention, the costs of detaining this non-criminal population, the INS’s long history of failing to effectively and consistently implement parole for asylum seekers and in particular its failure to take steps to ensure that local districts comply with the INS’s own parole guidelines.
Click here to see a copy of the report.
Click here to find out more about Human Rights First's Torchlight Campaign for asylum seekers.