Immigration Crackdown: Rights group faults U.S. for treatment of detained immigrants

Rights group faults U.S. for treatment of detained immigrants – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs: "Immigration enforcement in the United States is plagued by inhumane treatment of detainees, inadequate legal representation and the increasing use of detention as a necessity rather than an alternative, an international human rights group said in a report released Thursday.

The 155-page report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is the most comprehensive review by an international organization of American immigration policy since the Department of Homeland Security took over enforcement responsibilities from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in 2002, leading to the creation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"The IACHR is convinced that detention is a disproportionate measure in many if not most cases, and that programs that provide for alternatives to detention would be a more balanced means to serve the State's legitimate interest in ensuring compliance with immigration laws," the report says.

In cases where detention is necessary, the commission found a lack of conditions "commensurate with human dignity and humane treatment." The report also noted that detainees face obstacles to due process, mainly the right to an attorney, especially in cases involving unaccompanied children, immigrants with mental disabilities and others unable to represent themselves.

The report, which focuses on ICE's civil immigrations operations, also criticizes the multiple partnerships between local and state entities to enforce civil immigration laws. "The Inter-American Commission finds that the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement has failed to develop an oversight and accountability system to ensure that these local partners do not enforce immigration law in a discriminatory manner by resorting to racial profiling, and that their practices do not use the supposed investigation of crimes as a pretext to prosecute and detain undocumented migrants."

The commission, a division of the Organization of American States, based its conclusions on evidence gathered from six immigration detention centers in Arizona and Texas and interviews with detainees and their families, immigration experts and attorneys that began in 2008."