“Make America Great Again” is the prime declaration of the President of the United States Donald J. Trump. To foresee such a prosperous future for his country, the key aspect targeted by Trump is the uprooting of illegal immigrants from the US, whom he considers as a burden to exchequer and a threat to national security. However, the systemic reality within the United States speaks a different story. US immigration custody is a nightmare and it is indeed doubtful whether it will align with international humanitarian law.
Though the illegal immigrants held in custody are meant to be deported, the process and system has to be swift, lawful, clear and effective. On the other hand, the immigration custody of the United States under the Donald Trump administration tells a different story. Lack of basic amenities, poor investigation mechanisms, lack of medical care, ineffective communication network, bureaucratic lethargy and other systemic failures are the reality of the US immigration custody. This has apparently led to the record death of immigrants who are detained in custody. Is the Trump administration accountable to all the deaths and misdeeds?
Dark reality of US Immigration Ecosystem
The Immigration and Customs Enforcements(ICE) Reports mandated by the US Congress and other investigations conducted by the private media platforms reveal chilling facts about the fragile status and dark reality of the US immigration ecosystem. The reports raise serious questions about the quality of medical care, carelessness or negligence to emergency response mechanisms etc. As an impact of such systemic failures, many illegal immigrants held in the detention centres are suffering and are dying due to infectious diseases.
As per the families of the detained immigrants, their attorneys, immigration advocates and the representatives of the Democratic Party, the United States under the Trump administration is suffering from a stringent and lethargic bureaucratic setup. Hierarchical and multi-layered federal investigative agencies, medical officers and even the local law enforcement officials pose lethargy and are reluctant to cooperate with the families and advocates of the detainees. Thus, the struggle is massive.
This reflects the fractured administrative and legal structure of the United States under the Trump administration. When the basic rights of the people held in custody cannot be fulfilled and when the legal proceedings move at a lukewarm pace in the world’s largest democracy, how can President Trump “Make America Great Again”? When the fundamental rights of the detainees are not addressed, how can the United States preach the world about democracy, freedom and rights?
Recent deaths in the US Immigration Custody
In the previous week, an Afghan asylum seeker who had worked with US Special Forces for military operations died in the US Immigration Custody(ICE) in Texas. In another case, Royer Perez-Jimenez, from Mexico, died in custody in Florida. He became the youngest to die in ICE custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House and it brought the figure of known deaths in ICE custody during this administration to 42. Many other untimely and suspicious deaths across the United States are dubbed by the ICE as suicide or mental health crisis. However, there are no evidence or data for such claims.
Veronica Escobar, the US Congresswoman from the Democrat Party said the local and federal law enforcement agencies and the private contractors who are operating the detention centres are a dire problem. They indulge in redtapism, corruption, negligence thus making the life of detained immigrants miserable. Also, across the United States there have been six reported suicides in the detention centres in the last 13 months. The Democrats, rights advocacy groups and others have called the more than 42 deaths within the immigration custody as “alarming, cruel and incredibly tragic”.
While the operating immigration custody centres are in a pathetic status with no proper care and adequate action, the Trump administration is aiming to rapidly open new detention centres across the country. Presently, there are more than 70,000 immigrants detained by the ICE across the United States. An Assistant Professor from the USA mentioned that ICE detention deaths are now occurring at a rate of roughly one every four days. Just three weeks ago it was one death every six days. So, the rate of deaths in the detention centres is spiking, however, the Trump administration has not launched any concrete investigation.
Many observers who are aware of the way in which the US Immigration Custody is working say that putting someone in the immigration detention custody is not equivalent to a death sentence. Even in the previous year, a record number of people died in the detention centres, vowing to abuse, neglect or delayed medical care. “There is no reason to be holding tens of thousands of people in detention right now when the vast majority of them have never been convicted of a crime and could have their cases managed through ways that are far safer and more humane than locking them up”, asserted Rebekah Wolfe, Director at the Immigration Justice Campaign at the American Immigration Council.
This precarious status of the US Immigration Custody under the Trump administration reflects the dark truth and reality about the world’s largest democracy. While deporting illegal immigrants can be justified under the national security protocol, there is no accountability, swift investigation and credible action. Analysis of the reports, the spiking number of deaths in the detention centres and the statements of the democrat leaders and others raises serious apprehension about the adherence to fundamental international humanitarian principles in the detention centres of the United States under Trump rule!
