April Fools...Not

"Shut your mouth before I write you up again!" the Deputy yells at the Cuban detainee in the cell.

"I want to see the Lieutenant," the Cuban demands.

"He's not here." The Deputy leaves the Pod.

A few minutes later...

Bamm!! "Fuck that shit!" The Vietnamese detainee bangs on the table in the dayroom.

He paces around with anger showing through his beet red face.

I ask him what's going on. He tells me that the Deputy searched his cell and took away some extra clothing and plastic containers. He says that he's stressed out dealing with the immigration detention and doesn't need to be harrassed by the Deputy.

The same thing happens to the Cuban. When he complains, the Deputy exerts authority.

The majority of the immigration detainees have never been in prison. They're not criminals. Therefore, they're not used to being locked up in a cell for a lengthy period. One week is like a year to some people.

The reality is immigration detention centers are prisons.

Check out American Gulag: America's Immigration Prisons by Mark Dow.