New Detention Alternative for Some Asylum Seekers Arrested in US

by Una M. · 2009-12-05 13:34:00 UTC
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Every year, more than 300,000 people are detained on immigration-related offenses in the United States. About 10,000 of these detainees are asylum seekers, people seeking refuge in the United States on the basis that they face war and persecution in their home countries. While most detained asylum seekers pass through the system within a few months, some remain detained for years on end, in legal limbo and often without access to the medical care and mental health services they need. Detention of asylum seekers in prison conditions has been widely criticized by human rights and immigrant advocacy groups as unnecessary and re-traumatizing. Under a new policy, some asylum seekers arrested by immigration authorities will now be allowed to avoid detention as their cases are processed. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) welcomed the move as a humane step toward changing the way the United States deals with asylum seekers, many of whom arrive in the United States undocumented or lapse out of legal status before their day in court.

Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller was briefed last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on the most recent development in the department's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or ISAP II. The program allows some individuals arrested on immigration charges and deemed low flight risks to avoid detention by adhering to a supervision program and meeting regularly with immigration caseworkers.

Feller called ISAP II an improvement on the two previous ICE monitoring programs, which entailed more intrusive supervision and wearing of electronic ankle bracelets that allowed immigration officials to monitor asylum seekers' whereabouts 24 hours a day. In her meeting with ICE officials, Feller praised the reduced reliance on these devices, which she said some asylum seekers found psychologically disturbing.

It's not difficult to understand why criminal-like treatment is re-traumatizing for asylum seekers. Many arrive in the United States having been imprisoned in their home countries. Being detained or even just required to wear a GPS bracelet can trigger flashbacks to the ill-treatment that forced them to seek asylum in the first place. Coupled with the lack of mental health services available to asylum-seekers in both situations, it's a recipe for serious emotional distress.

ISAP II will allow at least some asylum seekers to live at home while their cases proceed, but it's not yet clear how many will be included in the program and how many will still face more intrusive monitoring or detention.

"People who have fled refugee situations are very fragile," Feller told US immigration officials. "The objectives of many alternatives to detention systems are enforcement objectives. UNHCR believes that humanitarian considerations should take on a higher profile."

[Photo: UNHCR / 22120 / A. Hollmann]

Una M.
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