The Needless Detention of Immigrants in the United States: Why Are We Locking Up Asylum-Seekers, Children, Stateless Persons, Long-Term Permanent Residents, and Petty Offenders?
Donald Kerwin, Mark von Sternberg, Juan Osuna, Mary McClenahan, Alicia Triche, Helen Morris, and Tom Shea
August 2000

This report contributes to the extensive literature on the suffering caused by the US immigration detention system, with a focus on the government’s failure to pursue alternatives to detention for persons that need not and should not be detained. It describes the detention of asylum seekers, women, children, mandatory and indefinite detainees, and persons held based on secret evidence. It recommends several steps to reform this system. The report was published prior to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, but its stories and recommendations remain timely.