United Nations Scrutinizes U.S. Treatment of Migrants

U.N. report criticizes U.S. treatment of migrants
America does not adequately protect the human rights of noncitizens, says an investigator. He takes aim at increased detentions, saying they are overused.

March 8, 2008

The United States has failed to uphold its international obligations to protect the human rights of migrants, subjecting too many to prolonged detention in substandard facilities while depriving them of an adequate appeals process and labor protections, a United Nations investigator said Friday.

In the international body's first scrutiny of U.S. treatment of its 37.5 million noncitizen migrants, U.N. investigator Jorge Bustamante took particular aim at what he criticized as the "overuse" of detention for immigrants. Noting that the annual detainee population has tripled in nine years to 230,000, he called on the United States to eliminate mandatory detention for certain migrants and instead expand the use of alternatives, such as electronic ankle bracelets. Read on>>

Get the full U.N. Report here

Posted in: detention,Human Rights,Immigration Raids,U.S. Treatment of Migrant Workers,United Nations