Since 1994 there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of immigrants detained by the U.S. government. However, very little information regarding the conditions of detention is available. The National Immigrant Justice Center is seeking to gather documents regarding the conditions of immigrant detention.

NIJC's Detention Center Documentation Collection is intended to increase the transparency of the U.S. immigration detention system by sharing government documents and other information regarding the operation of facilities used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, NIJC has received thousands of pages of documents pertaining to detention conditions and jail contracts throughout the Midwest. Among the documents are 2006 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inspection reports for a number of jails.

If your organizaton has documentation pertaining to an immigration detention center that is currently in operation that could be useful to other advocates, please contact NIJC.

Graph sources: ICE Immigration Enforcement Initiatives, June 23, 2006; Hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary, Review of USDOJ Immigration Detention Policies, House of Representatives, Dec. 19, 2001