Sexual Abuse in US Immigration Prisons
The USian Immigrations and Customs Enforcement service has recently revised the rules applying to immigrants detained and awaiting their deportation hearings. Most notably for me, they’ve strengthened the absolutely shit regulations regarding sexual abuse in detention.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (which is already inadequate, but at least it’s a step) does not apply to ICE detention centers, which means that there is almost no meaningful steps taken to end the sexual abuse of prisoners. 180 sexual abuse complaints have been reported since 2007, a number that almost certainly undercounts the number of people abused, since many do not speak English and aren’t aware of their rights or are afraid to exercise them for fear of deportation.
The new ICE regulations are supposed to improve supervision of detainees and make it easier to report. Detainees who report sexual abuse will have their names disclosed on a strictly need-to-know basis; retaliation is forbidden; staff will be trained in sexual abuse prevention; all facilities will be required to have policies regarding sexual assault. However, they have several glaring flaws:
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (which is already inadequate, but at least it’s a step) does not apply to ICE detention centers, which means that there is almost no meaningful steps taken to end the sexual abuse of prisoners. 180 sexual abuse complaints have been reported since 2007, a number that almost certainly undercounts the number of people abused, since many do not speak English and aren’t aware of their rights or are afraid to exercise them for fear of deportation.
The new ICE regulations are supposed to improve supervision of detainees and make it easier to report. Detainees who report sexual abuse will have their names disclosed on a strictly need-to-know basis; retaliation is forbidden; staff will be trained in sexual abuse prevention; all facilities will be required to have policies regarding sexual assault. However, they have several glaring flaws:
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