South Carolina Schemes to Detain Undocumented Immigrants in Separate Prisons
As enforcement of US immigration laws grows increasingly more local in nature, broader solutions are being devised in certain areas to process arrested undocumented immigrants more effectively. South Carolina has seen an overhaul of their immigration enforcement system, and proposed laws would complete the movement toward localized immigration procedures.
Officials in South Carolina are contemplating the construction of three regional prisons to detain arrested undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation. While law enforcement officials see this as a logical step in easing pressure on the state's local jails, many civil rights advocates are seeing the measures as unfairly segregating immigrants, which could lead to substandard care and treatment or even abuse.
South Carolina's current procedure for handling undocumented immigrants who are arrested for committing crimes is to detain them in county jails until the Department of Homeland Security can transfer them to the nearest federal facility in Atlanta. Detainment in county jails has resulted in overcrowding to the chagrin of many sheriffs in South Carolina counties.
Instead, a new plan designed by the South Carolina Sheriff's Association would create three new jails run by the state Department of Corrections, using money from the Department of Homeland Security under their 287(g) program. This program currently funds only one county in South Carolina, and is notoriously difficult to gain funding from typically. The sheriffs involved believe that a regional plan would attract more funds than a smaller, county solution.
This group of sheriffs is still awaiting approval from the Department of Homeland Security in order to proceed with the new procedures. Many anticipate federal funds not being enough to cover construction costs, just maintenance and administrative costs for already-built jails. Therefore, the state legislature for South Carolina may have to get involved to include taxpayer money for the construction.
A pending immigration bill currently in the state legislature does not address the overcrowding problem. Its language would require local jails to screen inmates for proof of citizenship, but would not relieve these jails of illegal immigrants-this measure would simply mean eventual deportation proceedings for incarcerated criminals who were found to be undocumented, though local jails have no indication how quickly those processes will occur.
Of course, the concept of separate facilities for a certain class of criminals who have been convicted of minor offenses raises concerns over potential treatment. "Separate but equal" is rarely equal, public advocates at the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center are quick to point out. Transfer to regional facilities means loved ones will be removed further from these individuals, who are often low-income and working-class and may find it difficult to visit.