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Detainees
Min was born in a small village in Burma, now Myanmar, in 1956. The Myanmar government considered him a threat to state security. In the mid-1990s Min’s involvement with a pro-democracy group was considered subversive and criminal. On more than 10 occasions government agents interrogated and brutally beat him. Min knew that he could not continue to live under these conditions.
Min found a job as a cook on an ocean freighter, a ship that would take him halfway around the world. While docked at a New Jersey port one night, Min jumped from the ship and plunged into his future. After the ship set sail he turned himself in to port security. He was arrested, processed and eventually detained at the York County Prison in Pennsylvania.
One of LIRS's legal services partners, the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC), which is funded in part by an LIRS Asylum and Immigration Grant, represented Min in his asylum claim. PIRC’s staff attorney spent many hours with him preparing his case, carefully recounting the abuse he had suffered.
Min eventually won his freedom after presenting his case to an immigration judge, who granted his application for asylum. He currently resides on the east coast, where he is active in the Burmese community. |
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Resources on Detention
Statement of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and
Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
This 6-page statement was submitted to the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border
Security, and International Law of the Committee on the Judiciary on
October 4, 2007. Download (PDF).
 Locking Up Family Values: The Dentention of Immigrant Families
This 72-page report, a joint publication of LIRS and the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, details the U.S. policy of detaining families in immigration proceedings. examines the conditions of confinement and makes recommendations for correcting this unjust and inhumane system. Download report (2MB PDF).
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Min’s case has a happy ending, but for many detained immigrants the outcome is not so positive. Some are returned to danger in their homelands, some endure prolonged or indefinite detention, and some suffer additional trauma from their unnecessary imprisonment. LIRS is proud to have played a part in winning Min’s freedom, and we fight daily not only for the freedom of others in immigration detention, but for systemwide changes in U.S. detention policies.
Who is in immigration detention?
People in immigration detention are not serving criminal sentences, but a majority of them are held in prisons, mixed with the general population including those who have been convicted of crimes. Of the estimated 200,000 immigrants that will be detained annually over the next several years, 28,000 will be torture survivors. On any given day There are 22,000 immigrants in detention. Many are held for weeks, others for months, and some for a decade or more. [1] These include…
- people who are not security threats or flight risks;
- hardworking people who came to the United States in search of the American dream and the freedoms that this country offers;
- the most vulnerable, including asylum seekers, torture survivors, and unaccompanied children;
- those who are lawful permanent residents or family members of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents;
- people who were deeply integrated into our economy as workers, consumers, and taxpayers; [2] and
- those whose deportation orders cannot be carried out and are kept in indefinite detention, contrary to Supreme Court decisions. [3]
How is LIRS helping?
Working in partnership
LIRS’s network of asylum and immigration partners provides vital service to the most vulnerable immigrants, including detained asylum seekers and torture survivors, and engages in advocacy on their behalf. We support these partners through technical assistance and small grants including those made through the Asylum and Immigration Grant Program.
LIRS also cooperates with a broad range of partners through coalitions such as the Detention Watch Network (DWN). Originally coordinated by LIRS, DWN is the only national coalition in the United States that addresses the detention crisis head-on, and helps detainees and their loved ones make their voices heard. DWN is a network of individuals and organizations working in support of, and in service to, immigrants in detention.
Advocating for legal orientation
LIRS has long championed the adoption and systemwide expansion of the legal orientation program (LOP). This innovative program was developed by the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP), an LIRS Asylum and Immigration Grant recipient. Through LOP, community-based nonprofit agencies provide legal orientation for everyone in immigration detention, individual case assessments for those who request them, and referrals to expert volunteer attorneys wherever possible for detainees who may have relief from removal which is the legal possibility of remaining in the United States. In regions where there are few pro bono lawyers, these nonprofit service providers offer workshops that empower people to represent themselves. LOP requires cooperation from all parties: the government recognizes that nonprofit legal service provision is an integral part of the system, and all share the common goal of achieving a fair and efficient process.
Coordinating service to torture survivors
LIRS also coordinates a nationwide network of legal service hubs, entitled the Detained Torture Survivor Support Network. This network strives to ensure that detained torture survivors lost in the shuffle receive legal representation along with advocating for systemic improvements.
Serving as a resource
LIRS’s access to justice unit regularly responds to inquires from immigrants in detention. We respond to requests for information on detention standards, for information on detainee rights, and for referrals to legal providers and service agencies.
What can you do?
If you are interested in helping people in detention you have a few options:
- Give your time and money to help LIRS continue to serve and advocate for the most vulnerable immigrants.
- Learn more:
- Advocate:
- Serve:
NOTES
[1] Statement of Wesley Lee, Acting Director of Detention and Removal Operations at ICE,before the Senate Judiciary Committee. June 7, 2005.
[2] According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, undocumented workers “…are working hard and performing tasks that most Americans take for granted but won’t do themselves….” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, http://www.uschamber.com/issues/index/immigration/essentialwork.htm.
[3] Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001); Clark v. Martinez, 125 S.Ct. 716 (2005).
Page created October 26, 2005.
Last modified October 18, 2007.
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