Immigration is a big issue in 2017. President Donald Trump expressed plans for mass deportations and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) increased fees in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fee Schedule. According to “How For-Profit Companies Are Driving Immigration Detention Policies” by the Center for American Progress, there were almost two times the number of immigrants in detention in 2013 (440,600) than in 2005 (230,000), due mainly to the privatization of detention centers.
There are currently more than 200 immigration detention centers in the United States that detain men, women and children. They are often located far from major cities. There can be thousands of detainees in the larger centers with a population of those with and without criminal records. All of this combines to create a prison-like situation, which is unfortunate given that many immigrants are simply trying to escape dangerous situations in their home countries.
