INR: 4075 INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
In my two and a half years at Florida International University as an underrate, I have taken many courses both in Asian Studies and International Relations, but none impacted me quite in the way INR: 4075 did. I took this course in Spring 2020 while the pandemic around the world was increasing. Professor Misrad Krijestorac had four guest speakers throughout the semester that discussed Human Rights violations that occurred around the world, with a focus on the Middle East. I especially liked this because I felt my studies lacked information about the Middle East. Although my studies have not focused on a typical major that is created to help people, this is still an important part of why I chose Asian Studies and International Relations as my majors. I want to make a difference in the world - whether that is by becoming a professor or my dream of becoming a diplomat. This course allowed me to become one step closer to my goal and through my path of Global Learning. I would like to share the final project from Professor Krijestorac's class that greatly impacted me. In my paper, Human Rights Acts Committed Against Immigrants, I researched violations against human rights in the United States against immigrants and asylum seekers. Learning and seeing human rights violations around the world was heart breaking enough for me, but to see it in my own country, a country that prides itself on democracy, really made me realize that I need to do more and advocate for those that cannot advocate for themselves.
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Human Rights Acts Committed Against Immigrants:
Under the Trump Administration, the United States regressed in its immigration policies both abroad and domestically. Within the first year of his presidency, Trump targeted refugees from Muslim countries and Central America in a guise of protecting the nation from foreign terrorist activity. Executive Order 13769, or the “Muslim ban”, barred refugees from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and suspended the United Stated Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. Trump’s administration also announced the Temporary Protected Status would expire for almost 400,000 immigrants from Sudan, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal. These individuals were not only at risk of deportation and separation from their homes and families but were blocked from leaving their home countries plagued by human rights abuses and conflict. With their civil liberties undermined, the inability to seek refuge threatened their safety and livelihoods.
Entering the United States as an illegal immigrant is a civil violation, not a crime. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the ability to apprehend individuals they deem as suspects of immigration violations, including immigrants that were not affected by the travel ban, such as those from Mexico and Central America. These immigrants can be arrested at the Mexican border, during employment, house raids, traffic stops, or after having been convicted of a criminal offence (Jailed Without Justice). After being apprehended, an individual may be placed in “removal proceedings”, which means the government is looking to deport this individual from the United States. Those detained by immigration authorities often are not aware of their rights as they may not understand English and do not have a translator. In fact, immigrant children as young as 3-years-old have been ordered into court for their own deportation proceedings without a parent or guardian accompanying them. Under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, more than 2,000-plus children separated from their parents dealt with court proceedings on their own while grappling with the trauma of separation (Jewett and Luthra, 2018).
Amnesty USA states that individuals subject to deportation still have human rights. International law required that deportation procedures follow due process and confirm to international human rights standards. Additionally, detention pending deportation proceedings must be justified as a necessary measure in each specific case and should only be used as a measure of no other option and be subject to judicial review (Jailed Without Justice). In 2018, the United States withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council, disengaging from the international human rights system. In a July 2019 letter to Amnesty International, the U.S. government indicated that it engages U.N. human rights procedures only when they “advance U.S. foreign policy objectives”, declining to cooperate with their examination of the human rights issue in the United States (Everything You Need to Know about Human Rights in United States of America). Similarly, the U.S. government also disengaged from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and created a Commission on Unalienable Rights, which stated intent to narrow U.S. support for internationally recognized human rights.
In 2019, border authorities forced more than 59,000 asylum-seekers to return to Mexico while they awaited judgment of their asylum claims, which placed asylum-seekers at unnecessary risk and violated their right to seek asylum. According to Amnesty International, authorities were also detaining asylum-seekers arbitrarily to deter them from seeking protection or compel them to give up asylum claims. Children, women, the elderly, those with disabilities and medical conditions, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ were at risk from the ill-treatment at detention facilities. Children were forced to sleep on the floor within overcrowded facilities without access to adequate healthcare or food, all while living in poor sanitation conditions, as some migrants are also forced to wear soiled clothing for days at a time. Immigration detention, even for short periods under good conditions, can have a serious impact on their mental and physical health and development. U.N. human rights offices in both Mexico and Central America have reported numerous violations against migrants, such as excessive use of force and denial of services. Despite the growth in immigration detention, there are also no regulations or enforceable standards regarding adequate medical treatment, mental health services, religious services, access to phones, or legal services. With a lack of legal services, they are likely to not succeed in immigration proceedings or report substandard treatment. In 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union reported that at least seven children have died in custody or after being detained by federal immigration agencies at the border. Their deaths reflect the poor treatment of immigration detainment, as U.S. Border Patrol appeared to be holding children for extended periods of time in direct conflict with the 1997 Flores agreement, which is a set of legal guidelines that provide humane conditions for immigrant children in detention (Cynthia Pompa 2019). In fact, in 2019, Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian argued in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that soap, toothbrushes, and beds are not specifically mentioned in the settlement agreement, despite the fact that the agreement calls for detainees to be held in “safe and sanitary” conditions. While the government argued this was simply due to a lack of resources, it is clear that detainees were dehumanized due to the denial of basic hygienic care.
References:
“Everything You Need to Know about Human Rights in United States of America.” United
States of America 2019, www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/united-states-of-america/report-united-states-of-america/.
“Jailed Without Justice” Amnesty International USA, PDF file. https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp
content/uploads/2011/03/JailedWithoutJustice.pdf
Jewett, Christina, and Shefali Luthra. “Immigrant Toddlers Ordered to Appear in Court
Alone.” The Texas Tribune, The Texas Tribune, 28 June 2018, www.texastribune.org/2018/06/27/immigrant-toddlers-ordered-appear-court-alone/.
Pompa, Cynthia. “Immigrant Kids Keep Dying in CBP Detention Centers, and DHS Won't Take
Accountability.” American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union, 25