A shocking expose in The New York Times published on 11/2/09 details the Kafka nightmare that immigrant detainees fall into in the United States. Rights that we take for granted like having an attorney and habeas corpus are denied deportable aliens.
Approximately 400,000 people are detained in immigrant detention centers each year. Their rights are minimal; they are routinely denied medical care, they are moved to far away locations without notice, and they are effectively prevented from having legal counsel.
Access to legal representation is the critical lynchpin for fairness. The famous case of Clarence Gideon earned defendants the right to have an attorney even if they couldn’t afford one. Why aren’t deportable aliens given the same rights? Are they not people, do they not bleed if we prick them?
The Supreme Court is asleep on this one. According to the article, “a century-long line of Supreme Court decisions holds that immigrant detention is not a punishment or deprivation of liberty, and does not require legal counsel for fundamental fairness.”
That’s Orwellian. By definition, detaining someone deprives them of liberty! Why is the Supreme Court refusing to grant basic American rights to immigrant detainees? Can the cost be that draconian that we should deny rights to people in our country, no matter what their legal status or circumstances?
According to legal volunteers, nearly 40% of the detainees held at the Varick Street Detention Facility have legal grounds to contest deportation. Give them an attorney and a trial and let the truth prevail.
