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Cain Garcia

Ms. Steiner

English 10

12 March 2020

Harsh Conditions, Harsh Times

As the rate of immigration goes up and becomes more common, so do the rise in

detention centers. Detention centers are places where people live in harsh conditions. Detention

centers aren’t giving proper care and necessities one needs to survive. These are conditions

immigrants have to go through for days or even weeks. Large amounts of money are spent to run

these centers, yet are not spent on the wellbeing of immigrants. Although it can be argued that

immigrants at detention centers are being treated just fine, however they are being treated

inhumanely such as kids being separated from their parents and immigrants not receiving the

proper necessities and medical attention one needs to stay healthy.

One problem that is caused by these detention centers is that immigrants are being

separated from their kids, which creates more kids in poverty. According to Wood, “​The US

Department of Health and Human Services reported 10,773 unaccompanied immigrant children

in its custody, including the 20% swell in numbers since April 2018 due to enforced separation

of children from parents at the US-Mexico border​” (Wood 2018). Families are constantly being

separated which can create mental issues. Around 2,000 kids are being forced to separate from

their kids which creates kids in poverty since the kids are young and unable to support

themselves. The system is making immigrants pay large amounts of money in order to get out

from these centers.. The system also separates people based on their gender and age. The
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separation creates problems when they need to contact their family after they get out of these

centers, which can cause them to become emotionally unstable, leaving immigrants in danger to

themselves and others. According to Gordillo, bonds are up to $7,000 and doesn’t include the

payments for lawyers (Gordillo 2017). These high bonds are creating a barrier for immigrants to

get out of the harsh conditions. This is inhumane by giving them no option to be free since the

bonds are expensive, in result, causing them to be kept longer..

Immigrants are receiving poor medical attention at the detention centers even though

large amounts of money are being put to run them. Some detention centers have nurses who have

problems working with those who are sick, causing them to deny services. According to Saadi,

nurses aren’t giving proper medical attention due to them not wanting to get sick (Saadi 2019).

This denial can cause the victim to pass the sickness onto other immigrants, causing more deaths.

This is inhumane since service is being denied and they are being left to suffer from illnesses that

arise. Nurses are always supposed to give their service no matter what. Diseases are also going

around in different parts of the world that are not being cured. According to Tang, they are

unable to receive proper care, causing them to die (Tang 2019). Some diseases are curable in the

United States but not in other countries, which weakens the country’s immune system. The lack

of medical attention can lead to death since the symptoms begin to worsen and make the body

more susceptible to more illnesses the longer an immigrant is in detention centers.

Immigrants are also not receiving the proper necessities, such as clean blankets and are

put in cramped and dirty conditions. According to Silverman, there are 2,400 beds practically on

top of each other and are arranged in rows (Silverman 2017). These conditions can lead to

anxiety due to the fact there isn’t enough space for them to be comfortable. The cramped rooms
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can create warmer temperatures, which can lead to the growth of illnesses. The detention centers

don’t have clean blankets, as well as food that are high in nutrients. According to Shultz, the

blankets in these buildings aren’t well washed and the food doesn't contain any nutrients (Shultz

2020). The lack of nutrients can lead to physical illnesses such malnutrition. These conditions

can increase mental issues since those who are sick and who aren’t are all gathered together. The

blankets can contain infections and diseases which can spread throughout the center, possibly

killing off immigrants that have weak immune systems due to the lack of nutrition and proteins.

Although some may say that immigrants at detention centers are being treated just fine

because of the amount of money that are put into these centers, however, money is not being

spent on the immigrants health, which can affect them when they become a member of society.

According to Filion, immigrants are being treated differently based on their personal beliefs and

how they live (Filion 2018). Discrimination can cause mental health issues like depression or

severe anxiety. This can contribute to the way they will act when they become a member of

society. This can affect family members and those around them. There should be psychologists

there to comfort immigrants through a rough time and money being spent on the well being and

teaching them how to get out instead of ignoring them. There should be more medical attention

given to immigrants so they don’t die in the centers.

Immigrants at detention centers should be treated better since they are human beings.

They live without proper medical attention, proper necessities, and are being forced away from

their families. There should be smarter decisions on how the money is spent in the centers which

will benefit society and its people.

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Works cited

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statutory proposal." Yale Law Journal, June 2006, p. 2193+. ​Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints​,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148858004/OVIC?u=nvk12&sid=OVIC&xid=5ca92529​.

Accessed 11 Feb. 2020.

Filion, Nicole, et al. "Immigration, citizenship, and the mental health of adolescents." PLoS

ONE, vol. 13, no. 5, 2018, p. e0196859. ​Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints​,

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Accessed 11 Mar. 2020.

Gordillo, Luz Maria. "Becoming Legal: Immigration Law and Mixed-Status Families." Women,

Gender, and Families of Color, vol. 5, no. 1, 2017, p. 98+. ​Gale In Context: Opposing

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Accessed 11 Feb. 2020.

Saadi, Altaf. “Ethics: United States Immigration Detention and the Role of Nurses: A Call for

Action against Human Rights Violations.” ​The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing​,

2019,

ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Ta
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tions.html​. Accessed 11 Mar. 2020.

Shultz, George P., and Pedro Aspe. "Lands Held Under: Uncontrolled immigration happens

when migrants try to escape poor, dangerous countries. If we make their homelands safer,

more functional, and more prosperous, we can lessen everyone's burden." Hoover Digest,

no. 1, 2020, p. 84+. ​Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints​,

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Silverman, Stephanie J. “FAMILIES IN US IMMIGRATION DETENTION: WHAT DOES IT

MEAN TO DO ‘THE RIGHT THING’?” ​Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints​, 2017,

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Tang, Julian W. "Infectious Diseases: A Geographic Guide, Second Edition." ​Emerging

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https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A582622577/OVIC?u=nvk12&sid=OVIC&xid=2e7b2f81​.

Accessed 11 Mar. 2020.

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Wood, Laura C N. “Impact of Punitive Immigration Policies, Parent-Child Separation and Child

Detention on the Mental Health and Development of Children.” ​BMJ Paediatrics Open​,

BMJ Publishing Group, 26 Sept. 2018,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6173255/​. Accessed 11 Mar. 2020.