Calls for Reform Grow as Migrants Endure Difficult Conditions in US Facilities
Behind the heated political debates over immigration, a quiet crisis is unfolding within US detention facilities. For a growing number of migrants, the promise of asylum or a fair hearing has been replaced by months—sometimes years—of limbo in conditions that push them to abandon their legal claims out of sheer desperation.
Felipe Hernandez Espinosa, a 34-year-old asylum-seeker from Nicaragua, has spent nearly seven months in detention. He now spends his days at the Fort Bliss Army base camp in Texas, a facility where two migrants died in January and where reports of inedible food and poor sanitation are common. His story is not unique. “I came to this country thinking they would help me, and I’ve been detained for six months without having committed a crime,” he said in a phone interview. “I am desperate.”
A Rising Tide of Long-Term Detention
Data reveals a stark trend. In mid-January, over 7,250 people had been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for at least six months—more than double the figure from December 2024. Seventy-nine individuals had been detained for over two years. This surge coincides with a policy shift that generally prohibits immigration judges from releasing detainees while their cases proceed through severely backlogged courts.
The US Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that indefinite detention is unlawful, suggesting six months as a reasonable limit. Yet, for thousands, that limit is now a starting point.
“I’m Ready to Be Deported”: A Cry for Escape
Legal advocates report a disturbing new pattern. Attorney Ana Alicia Huerta, offering free counsel in California, found that the first three detainees she met in January all had the same plea: they had signed forms agreeing to leave the US but remained imprisoned. “All are telling me: ‘I don’t understand why I’m here. I’m ready to be deported,’” she said.
The conditions appear designed to break resolve. “The conditions are so poor and so bad that people say, ‘I’m going to give up’,” notes Sui Cheng of Americans for Immigrant Justice.
A Legal Labyrinth Without Exit
Even winning a case offers no guarantee of freedom. Sarah Houston, an attorney, represents several clients who have been granted protection under the UN Convention Against Torture—meaning they cannot be deported to their home country. Yet they remain in custody, with release requests denied every 90 days. “We’re seeing people who actually win their immigration cases just languishing in jail,” she says.
The system creates heartbreaking personal tragedies. Yashael Almonte Mejia, detained for eight months, married his pregnant American girlfriend via video call and became a father to a daughter he has never held. He also missed his sister’s funeral.
A Glimmer of Hope, But No Systemic Fix
Some find relief only through separate federal lawsuits, like a Mexican man held for a year despite winning protection. He was finally freed after his attorney filed a petition alleging unlawful detention.
For most, however, the wait continues in facilities with nicknames like “Alligator Alcatraz.” The Trump administration’s offer of plane fare and a cash incentive for voluntary departure rings hollow for detainees like Hernandez, who is told he must first see a judge—with his hearing repeatedly postponed.
These stories expose a system where prolonged detention has become a default, inflicting profound psychological trauma and separating families. It is a system where the punishment is not a judge’s order, but the crushing, open-ended anxiety of not knowing if tomorrow will bring freedom, deportation, or simply more of the same. The calls for reform are growing, but for those inside, each day is a plea for basic answers and a return to their lives.
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