U.S. Detention of Asylum Seekers: Seeking Protection, Finding Prison

In March 2003, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took over responsibility for asylum and immigration matters when the former INS was abolished. With this transfer, DHS was entrusted with the duty to ensure that the United States lives up to its commitments to those who seek asylum from persecution. These commitments stem from both U.S. law and international treaties with which the United States has pledged to abide. Yet, those who seek asylum - a form of protection extended to victims of political, religious and other forms of persecution - have been swept up in a wave of increased immigration detention, which has left many asylum seekers in jails and jail-like facilities for months or even years.