Detention and Dignity: Violations of Basic Human Rights in United States Immigration Facilities

Abstract

Although the United States presents itself as a global champion of liberty and human rights, its immigration detention system reveals deep contradictions between principle and practice. Every year, hundreds of thousands of non-citizens are held in civil detention facilities, often under punitive and degrading conditions that mirror or exceed those in criminal prisons. This article examines how the contemporary U.S. immigration detention regime undermines basic human rights, including the rights to liberty, health, family unity, security, and humane treatment.

It traces the historical evolution of immigration detention from the late 19th century through the post9/11 era, analyzes the legal and political frameworks that sustain large-scale detention, and identifies key patterns of abuse such as inadequate medical care, solitary confinement, sexual and physical violence, and the impact of privatization. Drawing on international human rights standards, U.S. constitutional principles, and existing empirical reports, the article argues that current practices amount to arbitrary and disproportionate deprivation of liberty. It concludes by proposing a set of legal and policy reforms, including the expansion of community-based alternatives to detention, access to legal representation, binding detention standards, and stronger accountability
mechanisms for public and private actors.