Keith Olbermann: ‘Immigration Detention Centers as Bad as Gitmo’

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann calls immigration detention centers “Gitmo Jr.-gate”, and that’s right on point. Olbermann’s comments during his “Still Bushed!” segment was prompted by a report just released by Amnesty International, “Jailed without Justice.” (Thanks to ImmigrationImpact.com for the post on this.)

Please read this, or at least glance through. You will find stories such as

• a U.S. legal resident from Albania being detained for four years;
• a young Honduran man committing suicide in detention as a result of not being provided mental health services;
• ICE agents stopping a father walking his 8-year old daughter to school, then asking the child to translate their questions regarding immigration status, resulting in the father’s detention;
• a Chinese woman fleeing political persecution being detained while the family scrambled to raise the $50,000 bond needlessly placed;
• the 16-month detention of a 63-year old Vietnamese woman who had been a political prisoner in Vietnam;
• a Sri Lankan civil war refugee detained for 4 ½ years in spite of already having been granted asylum in the U.S.;
• a Mexican woman delivering her baby while shackled to a hospital bed and not allowed contact with her husband.

The report does not advocate a platform for immigration reform, but simply asserts that our institutions ought to follow international standards of human rights and U.S. standards of due process.

This report offers specific legal and policy recommendations with regard to immigrant detention, including effective alternatives to detention.

We applaud Amnesty International and Keith Olbermann for bringing what is truly a national disgrace to light., but simply asserts that our institutions ought to follow international standards of human rights and U.S. standards of due process. This report offers specific legal and policy recommendations with regard to immigrant detention, including effective alternatives to detention. We applaud Amnesty International and Keith Olbermann for bringing what is truly a national disgrace to light.

– Miguel Gavaldon, Director of Development, EJS