Detention and Deportation in the Age of ICE

Intro | Summary | Document Gallery | Medical Report | Media | Take Action

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Introduction

EVERY DAY IN MASSACHUSETTS, approximately 800 immigrants and asylum-seekers are in detention in county jails around the state waiting to be deported or fighting a legal battle to stay in the country.  None of those persons are serving sentences for having committed a crime.  Yet they spend months, and sometimes years, in cells side-by-side with sentenced criminals, not knowing when they will be allowed to leave.
 
Detention and Deportation in the Age of ICE tracks the experience of 40 detained persons through the system of detention set up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The report is the first of its kind to thoroughly document jail conditions and due process issues for immigrants detained in Massachusetts.  A series of personal stories illustrates that in its zeal to deport all deportable persons, ICE tramples on fundamental rights.  In-depth analysis of hundreds of pages of government documents reveals the massive and growing federal presence in our state.

This companion website for the report contains the following sections:

Executive Summary

The report's key points are available in the Executive Summary.

Document Gallery

Documents highlighted in the report with this symbol are linked to in our Document Gallery.

Media

The report's news release, along with links to media coverage, are available on the Media page.

Take Action

Help stop this.

Detention and Deportion in the Age of ICE was released on December 10, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration is the foundation of the moderns system of human rights, and you can find out more about it from an ACLU perspective at Dignity Begins at Home.

Intro | Summary | Document Gallery | Medical Report | Media | Take Action