Locking up children

This week, at a refurbished camp for oil and gas workers, the Department of Homeland Security officially opened a new detention center for women and children who cross the southern U.S. border. In DHS director Jeh Johnson’s view, this is a move to prevent people from crossing the border at all. He wants to stem the tide of “illegal migration,” and he believes that detention is one means to do so. “Frankly, we want to send a message that our border is not open to illegal migration, and if you come here, you should not expect to simply be released,” said Johnson.

Let’s look at the positive side for a moment. If this detention facility prevents refugees from being automatically returned to the violence of their home countries, then it could serve a meaningful purpose. In detention, they might receive legal aid and have the opportunity to build cases for asylum. The government has heard at least part of the criticism from groups like Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and the Women’s Refugee Commission in their critique of how “family detention” is practiced. Families will be housed in cabins instead of cells. There are play spaces and toys. Children will receive some schooling, and there will be private spaces for refugees to meet with lawyers. All of these were failures of the government’s previous attempts.

On the other hand, the Dilley, Texas facility represents a fundamental misunderstanding by DHS. The majority of the 66,000 women and children who crossed the border in the summer of 2014 without documents were actually refugees, not “illegal migrants.” Refugees, by definition, have to cross borders to seek safety. By treating refugees as criminals, the U.S. is not in compliance with its own international commitments, like the 1951 Refugee Convention.