The horrific deaths of more than 40 migrants and asylum seekers in a fire while padlocked inside a cell in Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez migrant detention centre (“Estacion Migratoria”) have spurred calls to close the country’s notorious detention centres and led to the opening of a homicide investigation into detention centre staff. In the aftermath of […]
Americas
Open Letter Calling for Canada to Stop the Use of Provincial Jails for Immigration Detention
The GDP has joined 39 Canadian and international organisations in an open letter calling on Canadian authorities to cease detaining migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in provincial jails. As the GDP has previously documented, Canada has regularly attracted criticism for its persistent use of jails for immigration detention – and in particular, for its placement […]
Dominican Republic: Covid-19 and Detention
In the past three months, Dominican Republic authorities have significantly stepped up migration controls and forced removals of Haitians, including amongst them pregnant women arrested in hospitals, prompting international condemnation. The country, which has historically pursued a policy of mass deportations, removed more than 60,204 people to Haiti between 1 August and the end of […]
United States: Covid-19 and Detention
On 30 August, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released Concluding observations concerning its periodic review of US implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Committee highlighted the discriminatory application of immigration enforcement measures, stating that mandatory detention measures have a “disparate impact on asylum seekers of […]
Canada: Covid-19 and Detention
In a historic move, British Columbia’s Public Safety minister announced in July that the province will end the use of provincial jails for confining immigration detainees. The announcement, which followed a review of the province’s contract with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to facilitate the use of provincial correctional facilities for detaining migrants, is […]
Bahamas: Covid-19 and Detention
On 24 July 2022, 17 Haitian migrants, including a child, were found dead while 25 others were rescued at sea after their ship sank off the coast of the Bahamas. It is believed that the speedboat capsized in rough seas while heading towards Miami with up to 60 people on board. Two people were arrested […]
United States: Covid-19 and Detention
In late June, 53 migrants died after being abandoned in a trailer in south-west San Antonio, Texas, marking the highest ever death toll from a human trafficking event near the US-Mexico border. More than half of the victims were originally from Mexico while 14 were from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador. […]
Trinidad and Tobago: Covid-19 and Detention
On 5 February 2022, the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard opened fire on a boat carrying some 40 people fleeing Venezuela, wounding a woman and killing her nine-month-old baby. The country’s coast guard stated its personnel had opened fire in “self-defence” to prevent being rammed by the boat. Human rights activists as well as the […]
Argentina: Covid-19 and Detention
In December 2020, Argentina launched a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign that includes all refugees and migrants irrespective of migration status. However, the country has struggled to acquire sufficient vaccines. According to UNHCR, there were 3,965 refugees, 9,176 asylum seekers, and 171,659 displaced Venezuelans in the country in 2020 and as of mid-2021, there were 4,007 […]
Dominican Republic: Covid-19 and Detention
There has been a sharp uptick in anti-migrant policies and practices in the Dominican Republic in recent months, which have been fuelled in part by COVID-related restrictions and growing public backlash aimed at Haitians. Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a long history of political and racial tensions, often related to migration pressures. The Committee […]
