Concerning the Use of Solitary Confinement in Immigrant Detention Facilities in the United States of America (2013)

This report relates to the situation of immigrant detainees who are held in solitary confinement in detention facilities in the United States. It is submitted in response to the United States’ fourth periodic report and specifically addresses the widespread use of solitary confinement in immigrant detention as it violates immigrant detainees’ rights to due process and judicial remedies, violations of minimum standards of the right to humane treatment, and the right to personal liberty. The report discusses the policies and practices of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that support the use of solitary confinement to show that the United States’ failure to protect the rights of immigrant detainees represents a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The report seeks to urge the Human Rights Committee to recognize that the United States must adhere to its obligations under the ICCPR by limiting the use of solitary confinement and strictly permitting its use as a last resort