The Wake

Across the Midwest, hundreds of immigrants and refugees are detained in county jails contracted by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, these immigrants spend months, even years in remote detention facilities, isolated from attorneys and criminalized by society. They face obstacles in due process and are often refused basic rights.

Barbara Frey, director of the Human Rights Program on campus, along with the Midwest Coalition of Human Rights, is working to change all of that through education and advocacy. In a lecture at Elmer L. Andersen Library on Sept. 26, Frey touched on the many issues facing non-citizens in the Midwest. According to Frey, the “post-9/11 climate of fear” is an issue that faces non-citizens of all races.

Workers’ rights issues such as low wages or failure to collect workers’ compensation for fear of deportation are other issues immigrants deal with. But general discrimination in the areas of housing, employment, and education is the most visible problem for these workers. The most pressing issue that Frey discussed was the issue of non-citizen detention. The nature of detention facilities is just one obstacle that immigrants come across. They frequently receive poor healthcare, if any at all.

Often times these detained immigrants are denied access to a phone because of no service, or access to phones. This makes it nearly impossible for these immigrants to contact family members or seek legal council. The other issue is finding someone willing and qualified to take the case. In the Midwest there are simply not enough pro bono attorneys available to help the number of non-citizen detainees in need.

Minnesota has three legal service providers for immigrants. They are Centro Legal, Inc., Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.

Combined, these three service providers are not enough to cover the needs for the countless number of detained immigrants throughout Minnesota.

According to Frey, one way to end this battle is through education and advocacy. Advocacy on behalf of detained immigrants is an integral part of the process. Holding rallies and writing letters to state legislatures is necessary in order to bring this issue to light and give it a voice.

Advocacy can only do so much before education needs to happen. According to Frey, education needs to take place on multiple levels. Professional training on how to participate in immigration cases needs to be provided to lawyers, Frey says. Students at all levels of schooling need to be educated on the rights of non-citizens and common myths about immigrants need to be dispelled. Most importantly, the immigrant communities themselves need to be informed of their rights and the issues they face through “Know Your Rights” presentations. With the combination of advocacy and education, Frey hopes to make a positive impact on the lives of non-citizens throughout Minnesota and the Midwest.