From Persecution to Prison - Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of ...

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In the US, the law regarding refugees and displaced persons amountedto a patchwork of ad hoc legislation. It included the “Displaced PersonsAct” of 1948, the “Refugee Act” of 1953, the “Fair Share Refugee Act” of1960, and the “Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962,” none ofwhich fully embraced the definition established under the Refugee Convention.31 In 1965, Congress did amend the 1952 “Immigration andNationality Act” (INA) to provide permanent protection for some“refugees.” But the law continued the US’s practice of geographic and ethnicbias and limited the meaning of the term refugee to those from communistregimes and countries in the Middle East. 32The US began to reform its immigration policies with the Immigrationand Nationality Act of 1952 (also known as the McCarran-Walter bill),which retained the 1924 national origin quotas and gave preference toskilled immigrants and those fleeing communist regimes but eliminatedrace as a barrier. (The amendment of the Immigration and Nationality Actin 1965 finally replaced the national origins quota with hemispheric limits.)The 1952 Act broadened the grounds for deporting immigrants, butthe Attorney General was given the authority to “parole” aliens into theUnited States for “emergent reasons” or “in the public interest.” 33Few immigrants were detained in the decades after passage of the Immigrationand Nationality Act of 1952. In 1954, the US Attorney Generalannounced a new detention policy whereby “only those deemed likely toabscond or those whose freedom of movement would be adverse to thenational security will be detained.” All others would be released onparole, bond or supervision. 34 In addition, special programs were createdfor specific groups, such as the Cubans in the 1960s and the Indochinesein the 1970s and the Attorneys General during this period frequently usedtheir authority to grant mass parole. 35The UN Protocol, the 1980 US Refugee Act and US Policies in the Late20th CenturyIn 1968, the United States acceded to the UN’s 1967 Protocol Relating tothe Status of Refugees, which bound it to both the Protocol and the keyprovisions of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. 36 Inspite of joining these treaties, US law only became consistent with these31State of Florida’s Internet Portal, Health and Human Services, Refugee Service, RefugeeIssues: Historical Perspectives [Historical Perspectives], at www.myflorida.com/cf_web/myflorida2/healthhuman/refugee/pdf/rshp.pdf, accessed 2 Jan. 2002.32Historical Perspectives33Historical Perspectives at p.334History of Immigration Detention at p. 1235History of Immigration Detention at p. 13BACKGROUND 27
international standards with the 1980 Refugee Act. (See Legal Standardschapter.) The Act essentially adopted the international legal definition of arefugee as a person who is “unwilling or unable to return to his country ofnationality or habitual residence because of persecution or a well-foundedfear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membershipin a particular social group, or political opinion.” At the same time, theUS ended its longstanding policy of detaining only those considered a dangerto the community or flight risks and began detaining those who soughtto enter the U.S. without valid documents. 37During the past two decades, major regional immigrant flows to the UScame from the Caribbean (Cuba and Haiti), Indo-China, and CentralAmerica. Many fled brutal civil wars and related political violence stillongoing despite peace agreements, the end of the Cold War, and the end ofUS support for anti-communist militaries. The large numbers allowed infrom Indochinese communist dictatorships contrast with the small numbersgranted entry from Central American anti-communist dictatorshipssupported by the US, highlighting a longstanding political bias in asylumand immigration policy.Changes in the 1990sPressures generated by the immigrant flows and by activists in the 1980sand 1990s forced the government to undertake several reforms of immigrationpolicy affecting asylum seekers. In 1985, a group of refugee advocacyand religious organizations sued the US government, alleging that thegovernment, including the INS, discriminated against Guatemalans and ElSalvadorans applying for asylum. The resulting settlement approved by afederal court in 1991, known as the ABC Settlement Agreement, gavemany Central Americans a chance to file or reapply for asylum. 38 Duringthe time frame of the litigation and negotiations over this case, CentralAmericans accounted for approximately half the asylum applicationsreceived by the INS. 39 In 1995, just before the restrictive 1996 law, asylumapplications peaked at more than 150,000, with the largest group of asylumseekers coming from Central America. 4036United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, July 28, 1951, 189 UNT.S150 (entered into force April 22, 1954) [Refugee Convention]; United Nations ProtocolRelating to the Status of Refugees, January 31, 1967, 60 UNT.S. 267 (1968) (entered intoforce October 4, 1976) [Refugee Protocol]37Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Refugees Behind Bars38History of the United States Asylum Officer Corps and Sources of Authority for AsylumAdjudication, Sept. 1999, prepared by the INS Asylum Program (Asylum Corps History), p.6 at www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/services/asylum, accessed 3 Jan.2002391998 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service [1998 INS], at p. 89.40INS 1998 at p. 90 Table E28 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON
Page 2 and 3: From Persecution to Prison:The Heal
Page 4 and 5: CONTENTSAcknowledgements . . . . .
Page 6: The Bellevue/NYU Program for Surviv
Page 9 and 10: don, Miranda Ip, and Meriam Alrashi
Page 11 and 12: Significant symptoms of depression
Page 13 and 14: Detained asylum seekers participati
Page 15 and 16: persecution, yet most emphasized ho
Page 17 and 18: In many facilities, the response to
Page 19 and 20: years in detention, she finally got
Page 21 and 22: abuse For example, while being take
Page 23 and 24: They didn’t let me use the phone
Page 25 and 26: intensely personal events they had
Page 27 and 28: Limitations of this study include t
Page 29 and 30: Non-governmental organizations serv
Page 31 and 32: 22 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON
Page 33 and 34: the late 1990s ranging from 10 to 7
Page 35: Historical BackgroundFor most of th
Page 39 and 40: apply for asylum make up the majori
Page 41 and 42: tion judge. 57 Yet in many parts of
Page 43 and 44: York and Newark, New Jersey has had
Page 45 and 46: trict began denying parole to them
Page 47 and 48: Correctional Facility in 2000. “[
Page 49 and 50: men of which 750 were detained on i
Page 51 and 52: from that same country from seeking
Page 53 and 54: Detention Facilities in this StudyF
Page 55 and 56: high reliability in numerous langua
Page 57 and 58: 48 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON
Page 59 and 60: York County Prison in York Pennsylv
Page 61 and 62: TABLE 2:Demographic Characteristics
Page 63 and 64: TABLE 4:Prevalence of Pre-Migration
Page 65 and 66: on a part time basis, researchers w
Page 67 and 68: Case #1(DK): “Loneliness and Fear
Page 69 and 70: TABLE 6:Hopkins Symptom Checklist-2
Page 71 and 72: TABLE 8:Harvard Trauma Questionnair
Page 73 and 74: think such services were available.
Page 75 and 76: When I am talking to you now it is
Page 77 and 78: After being granted asylum and rele
Page 79 and 80: “Being here is like going through
Page 81 and 82: In my country even though I became
Page 83 and 84: how long they were there - six mont
Page 85 and 86: Thoughts of SuicideSeveral asylum s
Page 87 and 88:
here?’ I told the doctor, they br
Page 89 and 90:
Another subject reported a positive
Page 91 and 92:
substantial distance from their att
Page 93 and 94:
eported that her experience in dete
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86 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON
Page 97 and 98:
e somatic manifestations of the psy
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Case #2 (JG): “Health Care in Cha
Page 101 and 102:
TABLE 11:Detainee Perceptions of He
Page 103 and 104:
TABLE 13:Availability and Quality o
Page 105 and 106:
detainees, or because they did not
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Difficulty Obtaining Specialized Ca
Page 109 and 110:
Another detained asylum seeker repo
Page 111 and 112:
One detainee who speaks French and
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Detention Facilities in this StudyS
Page 117 and 118:
even though many reported having ex
Page 119 and 120:
CASE #3 (HN): “SOLITARY CONFINEME
Page 121 and 122:
Here, I’m scared. In [the detenti
Page 123 and 124:
emote control and watch what he wan
Page 125 and 126:
Whenever someone misbehaves, they t
Page 127 and 128:
This subject was himself threatened
Page 129 and 130:
One detainee reported several incid
Page 131 and 132:
Some Process Exists to Respond to R
Page 133 and 134:
There were no witnesses other than
Page 135 and 136:
tion. An INS officer said they put
Page 137 and 138:
There is an Anglican minister who c
Page 139 and 140:
The dentists didn’t explain anyth
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tion between dental age and chronol
Page 143 and 144:
Case #4 (LK): “Fifteen-Year-Old G
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
TABLE 16:Treatment/Abuses Reported
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“There is no political asylum her
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I was crying. I was so afraid with
Page 153 and 154:
save her life, but was not able to
Page 155 and 156:
Case #5 (CR): “Begging for Mercy
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ehind and told me to sign. He physi
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days and it is now 2 years and four
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viewers asked for additional inform
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y study participants. In evaluating
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trast, under US law, detention of s
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nation for an asylum determination
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very negative effects of detention
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authority to grant asylum and with
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absconding.” 250 Since the passag
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said “[F]reedom from imprisonment
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Standards relevant to this study ar
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“detained person” generally as
Page 181 and 182:
which they are charged and a fair h
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esponse to substantial public press
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specified procedures, provided they
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PunishmentThe Detention Standard on
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any time the detainee complains.”
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Page 193 and 194:
while in detention, thus adding to
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Establish a Uniform National Parole
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that effect. These officers should
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Besides their inaccuracy, these exa
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friends so asylum seekers can maint
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appropriate staffing of such groups
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efugees and asylum seekers who win
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Page 209 and 210:
of thorough documentation. However,
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Human development is complex and di
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18. Country from which fleeing pers
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9. Being close to death.10. Forced
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Complete for each health problem:5.
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Explain:(Interviewer: Write brief n
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2. Depression SymptomsA How much we
Page 223 and 224:
B. You said that you have experienc
Page 225 and 226:
Explain:13. How was your physical h
Page 227 and 228:
Yes ...........1No............22. W
Page 229 and 230:
Explain:20. At the time of your arr
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