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Proposal : Eliminating the problem of human rights violations of immigrants.

Introduction & Identification


This analytical research project primarily and foremost focuses on
human rights violations within the United States concerning illegal
immigration that have begun to occur since 2003, when ICE was
created. My proposal stands as a possible solution to how to fix these
mass human rights violations that are taking place across the board.
My solution relies on dissolving the policing powers of I.C.E agents and
training them to follow and respect universal human rights- especially
as they deport mass amounts of illegal immigrants. The context of my
case heavily relies on the testimonials from those whose rights have
been abused or violated, and human rights organizations that have
attempted to conduct further investigation on the matter Particularly
for my case of illegal immigration within the US in respect to ICE
proceedings, the issue arises in regards to how mass violations have
occurred to those who have been deported or detained in immigration,
given that ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is a
government organization created within the Human Rights Violators
and War Crimes Unit, a part of the Department of Homeland Security.
My case, simply put, is to ask why ICE commits mass human violations
to illegal immigrants who are in the process of being deported or
detained. Illegal migrants are not only stripped of their dignity, but of
their inherent human rights, due to the immigration system in the
United States being heavily flawed and abused by many of its
participants.
Current Situation
While the matter of illegal immigrant treatment has been raised, and
awareness has increased, it is difficult to place blame or accuse any
certain department of the United States with being the sole perpetrator
of violating the rights of said illegal immigrants, or any migrant for that
matter. However, if there was to be an immediate identifier as to who
was committing these direct human rights violations against deportees
or detainees, the fault would fall solely upon the individual ICE agents
who may unknowingly commit these crimes. I believe the reason that
ICE agents commit these violations to immigrants could be due to a
lack of education of human rights, applicable to both citizens, noncitizens and any other legal status. (The blame would then fall on the
Department of Homeland Security, for failing to properly educate and
train their personnel and agents alike). Unfortunately, it is also likely
that ICE agents commit these mass violations in their failure or

ignorance to see illegal immigrants as equal human beings, in light of


their non-legal status. The victims then, are logically those who have
illegal immigration status and are therefore detained or deported.
Being detained or deported to the migrants country of origin is not the
human rights violation- it is the treatment and abuse of their
personhood, which attributes the crime. These people fall victim to the
mercy and actions of the ICE agent(s) who apprehend them. These
immigrants, are treated as lesser beings, stripped of their dignity and
subject to the cruel whims that may be imposed on them by ICE
agents. When in detainment, or in the process of being deported,
some immigrants endure sexual abuse, mistreatment of transgender
detainees and are treated as highly dangerous criminals. Due to their
non-legal status or unauthorized entry into the United States, these
immigrants are often denied a fair and proper legal removal from the
states. With intimidation tactics, immigrants become too nervous to
speak about their maltreatment and are eventually simply booted back
to their country of origin without further notice.
Legal or not, immigrants should not have to forfeit their human rights
because of their status. Most of the illegal immigrants that are in
removal proceedings have not yet learned to speak English well
enough, so they are talked down to and abused in Spanish through the
ICE agents, and this verbal abuse is just degrading on an individual and
societal level. This is probably one of the more significant human rights
violations that occur to those in removal proceedings. The term
removal proceedings imply that these illegal immigrants are being
escorted back (forcibly) to their countries of origins and out of the US.
But those who find themselves in the removal process may find
themselves waiting as detainees for months and even years on end to
be deported back to their countries. Immigration detainees are not
supposed to be held as punishment the sole purpose of immigration
detention is to ensure that a person participates in their immigration
court proceedings. Many immigrants succeed at those proceedings,
and leave detention to become lawful residents in the US and
eventually citizens. (Astrid.) In other detention centers run by law
enforcement rather than immigration officials (ICE), immigration
detainees tend to be treated like criminals. In keeping with prison-style
security, they cant hug or even touch family members who come to
visit them. They wear uniforms like prisoners do. And they are held in
facilities designed mostly to prevent escapes, so they get little natural
light. They get treated like prisoners, and are sometimes abused. I
believe a visitation program can help shed light on those abuses. ICE
should know better than try to silence victims of abuse. The answer is
not to shut down these immigration detention/deport centers. Its to
stop mistreating the detainees.

Project Plan: Protecting Universal Rights of Illegal Immigrants


Dissolve policing authorities of I.C.E and Homeland Security at
the Federal Level.
Re-train I.C.E. agents to follow Universal Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Laws codes.
Allow visitation rights in detainee centers.
Reduce number of I.C.E agents, substituted by local police forces.
Bring social widespread awareness of the human rights violations
occuring for future prevention
All of the above steps, both major and minor should be taken into
serious consideration. From dissolving the police authorities of ICE to
allowing visitation programs for the detainee centers, all steps
encompass a path to stop and prevent these mass human rights
violations from taking place on account of our immigrants ever again.
Costs & Benefits
Let us conclude by summarizing the costs and benefits of the proposal.
Our budget projects that the total cost of this immigration rights
resolution will total $10 million dollars to properly address all project
plan steps.
The adoption of this proposal has a bountiful number of benefits. It will
not only address the human rights violations taking place, but also
begin to amend our broken immigration system, bring social
awareness of the crimes taking place, and strengthen our local police
forces by taking away the abusive powers of the federal police
agencies such as I.C.E and Homeland security. Once the funds for our
project have been properly distributed, the positive consequence and
benefits of my proposal will set in and begin a chain of good ethics and
actions throughout this nation.
Qualifications
Political Science has always covered a variety of subjects within its
fields, and mass immigration is certainly one of them. My dedication
as a student within the Political Science program has only increased
since further focusing on the various topics of immigration. My
qualifications to create a solution to the problem at hand are serious: I
am passionate and vocal on the many topics and issues that are
composed in immigration. Aside from my personal education in
growing up as an immigrant, with an immigrant family, and my
academic research into immigration, I have my extensive research

resources to thank for making this proposal a realistic solution. My


research on the human rights violations that I.C.E commits when
removing illegal immigrants is based on hard factual evidence.
Scholarly reviews and extensive studies have shown the negative
consequences that forcible and aggressive removal procedures have
on the immigrants themselves, and as a society. My proposal plan
addresses all of these substantive worries and concerns with viable
and realistic propositions to begin to amend our immigration system.
Conclusion
In closing, we can see how my written concept proposal can literally
help hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants be properly vacated
from our country, without a loss of dignity, respect or violation of their
universal human rights. The United States must quickly adopt a
realistic resolution to the current treatment of illegal immigrant
removals and deportations. This proposal would be an excellent first
step towards fixing a broken immigration system. My solution focuses
specifically on ensuring that these immigrants are treated right and not
taken advantage of within the system- as well as ensuring that
deportation procedures are humane, ethically and morally correct in
their actions. Through retraining and restricting the police powers of
I.C.E, we could resolve and prevent the human rights violations that so
many illegal immigrants have already endured. Lastly, Id like to thank
my readers for taking the time to read, analyze, and further consider
the positive effects that my proposal could bring towards our
immigration system.

Works Cited: Resources & References

Reyes, Astrid. "Deported Migrants Are Stripped of Their Dignity. They


Shouldn't Also Be Stripped of Their Belongings." American Civil
Liberties Union. ACLU Human Rights Program, 27 July 2015. Web. 01
Apr. 2016.
"Immigration Detention Conditions." American Civil Liberties Union.
ACLU Human Rights Program, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
(<https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rightsand-detention/immigration-detention-conditions>.)

Lyell, James, and Chris Rickely. "Federal Judge Denounces.."


American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU Human Rights Program, 31 Aug.
2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
Campos, Jose Edgardo L. "Political Instability and Illegal
Immigration." Journal of Population Economics 8.1 (1995): 23-33.
JSTOR. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
Taylor, Michael R. "Illegal Immigration and Moral Obligation."
Public Affairs Quarterly 22.1 (2008): 29-41. JSTOR. Web. Apr 1. 2016.
"ICE." ICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 01Apr. 2015. <https://www.ice.gov/>.
"Human Rights Violators & War Crime Unit." ICE.gov. N.p., n.d. Web.
Apr 1. 2016.

"ICE- Removal Stats. FY 2014." ICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.ice.gov/>.

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