Res. No. 155
Title
Resolution urging the United States Department of Homeland Security to end the practice of placing immigrant detainees in solitary confinement, except in emergency situations.
Body
By Council Member Dromm
Whereas, The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), a division of the United States Department of Homeland Security, is charged with overseeing and providing for the care, custody, and control of immigration detainees; and
Whereas, According to ICE, New York City's only immigration detention facility, the Varick Federal Detention Facility, was closed in 2010; and
Whereas, Since the closure, advocates have stated that New York City immigrant detainees have been either moved to distant immigration detention centers or detained alongside criminals in state and local prisons; and
Whereas, While, according to ICE, immigration detention is supposed to be a civil, non-punitive measure to ensure detainees attend immigration court hearings and comply with court orders, disciplinary measures and segregation practices to which immigration detainees are subjected often emulate those used in criminal facilities, including the practice of placing individuals in solitary confinement; and
Whereas, According to ICE, there are 250 immigration detention facilities across the United States with a daily detainee population of approximately 33,000 immigrants; and
Whereas, According to the New York Times article "Immigrants Held in Solitary Cells, Often for Weeks" ("NYT Article") published in March of 2013, solitary confinement is a form of punishment used by detention officers in which an individual is isolated in a small cell and deprived of human contact and other sensory and intellectual stimulation for long periods of time and during which privileges and activities generally extended to the detained population such as phone calls, access to medical care, visitations, and recreation are restricted, if ...
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