NIJC Solitary Testimony 2014 02 25 Final Draft.pdf

Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director of Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center, testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights on the issue of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities. The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) has seen instances of the misuse of solitary confinement, particularly among vulnerable individuals such as sexual minorities and those with mental illness. McCarthy called on Congress to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ends the use of solitary confinement through legally binding detention standards and provides greater transparency and accountability.

The NIJC has found that immigration detention is the fastest-growing incarceration system in the United States, with an average of 34,000 individuals held daily. Many detainees have never been convicted of a crime and pose no threat to public safety. Despite this, immigration detainees are often held in jail-like conditions, and solitary confinement is used as a default response to deal with mental illness or psychological trauma.

The NIJC's 2012 report, "Invisible in Isolation," found that roughly 300 immigrants were held in solitary confinement on any given day. Immigrants in solitary confinement are often held in small cells for 23 hours a day with limited access to programming, recreation, and contact with family members and attorneys. The NIJC advocates for reform of the immigration detention system and calls for an end to the use of solitary confinement.