“I didn’t see the sun for seven months. I went in a human and I [came] out not a human.” - Sajjad, an Iraqi student who sought asylum and was detained in the European Union

“The experience was horrendous. It had an impact on my sanity.” - Israel, a Mexican man who sought asylum and was detained in the United States

A new report released today by the Immigrants' Rights Policy Clinic, part of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, and Equal Rights Beyond Borders, , takes a rare transnational look at the detention of asylum seekers, finding striking similarities in the United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) detention systems. The world has seen a rising tide of stringent policies to diminish humanitarian protections and restrict freedom of movement, militarizing borders and blocking access to asylum. As part of this trend, governments’ growing reliance on detention to manage migration is especially troubling.

“People on the move have always been a part of human history. We must take a transnational approach to assess how governments treat people who come to their borders seeking safety so that we can see patterns and propose more humane solutions,” said Hiroshi Motomura, Co-Instructor of the Immigrants’ Rights Policy Clinic and Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. “A sustainable and ethical response to migration requires not more border enforcement, but instead a serious commitment to welcoming those who arrive, while also addressing what forces people to move away from their home countries.”

The report takes a close look at the detention systems in each setting, examining who is detained, the relevant legal frameworks, the length and conditions for migrants in detention, the role of politics, “de facto” detention, how migrants challenge detention, and alternative approaches to replace detention. It focuses on asylum seekers in particular, integrating firsthand accounts of people detained in both the U.S. and EU.

“Despite variations in legal frameworks and political contexts, the lived experiences of migrants seeking protection in the U.S. and EU are strikingly similar,” said Talia Inlender, Co-Instructor of the Immigrants’ Rights Policy Clinic and Deputy Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. “This report underscores the urgent need to end the use of detention in both the U.S. and EU. In the interim, we must strengthen legal safeguards, increase transparency, and establish robust mechanisms for accountability to ensure the fair and dignified treatment of migrants.”

 Among the report’s findings: 

• The U.S. and EU both subject people who are seeking protection to prison-like facilities that are rife with abuse, poor living conditions, and insufficient medical care, detaining asylum seekers in ways that disregard international, European, and U.S. laws.
• In each place, laws on the books often fail to act as effective barriers against arbitrary and prolonged detention as well as abuse within facilities. Asylum seekers lack access to lawyers and face tremendous legal obstacles to winning release and advocating to improve their conditions.
• In the U.S. and—even more so—in the EU, “de facto” detention centers are a growing phenomenon, circumventing laws meant to limit detention and contributing to a lack of oversight and accountability.

“Regardless of where it happens, detention violates migrants’ rights and dignity,” said Jamie Kessler of Equal Rights Beyond Borders. “Community-based programs provide us with effective alternatives to the cruelty and inefficiency of detention. In the meantime, detention in any setting should be limited to exceptional cases and comply with international human rights standards.”

Read the full report: Immigration Detention Across Borders: Detention of Asylum Seekers in the United States and the European Union. 

Contact: press@equal-rights.org