{"id":204,"date":"2024-09-29T13:57:03","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T17:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn449-f24\/?p=204"},"modified":"2024-10-06T16:02:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-06T20:02:44","slug":"migrant-center-at-guantanamo-bay-under-fire-after-report-claims-prison-like-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn449-f24\/2024\/09\/29\/migrant-center-at-guantanamo-bay-under-fire-after-report-claims-prison-like-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Migrant Center at Guantanamo Bay under Fire after Report Claims “Prison-Like” Conditions (with new edits)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a report <\/a>claiming migrants held at a federal facility in Guantanamo Bay lived in close-quartered living conditions contaminated by mold and sewage, had inaccessibility to legal communication, and limited access to supplies, clean hygiene, and food according to the The Miami Herald<\/a>. The International Refugee Assistance Project works to provide human rights and legal protection to refugees. Located along the coast of Cuba, most Guantanamo Bay detainees are Haitians and Cubans.<\/p>\n

According to an interview conducted by The Miami Herald, Jose Miranda, a senior staff attorney at the\u00a0International Refugee Assistance Project, spoke on the inhumane conditions Guantanamo Bay subjects to its detainees. \u201cThis is in clear violation of the United States\u2019 legal commitments, and a violation of core values that anyone should have and the U.S. purports to have,\u201d said Miranda to\u00a0The Miami Herald.<\/p>\n

The Miami Herald reported on one Cuban family Miranda had represented and claimed that \u201cthey feared political persecution on the island.\u201d Upon coming to Guantanamo Bay, the family was unable to receive adequate medical care and proper schooling.<\/p>\n

In addition to holding migrants, Guantanamo Bay is known for holding suspected terrorists after the attacks on 9\/11. The detention center held migrants from Haiti during the 1980s and 1990s before detaining Cubans during the 1994 rafter crisis when thousands fled Cuba. According to The Miami Herald, IRAP\u2019s report is asking that the federal government shut the detention facility down.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigration mistreatment always surfaces very late in the news,\u201d\u00a0said Paola Rodriguez, a senior at Princeton University whose family migrated from Cuba. Rodriguez recognizes the lack of coverage on the issue. \u201cI feel like there isn\u2019t nearly as much awareness made about it,\u201d said Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson speaking on behalf of the Department of State denied the\u00a0report\u00a0published by The International Refugee Assistance Project, stating explicitly to\u00a0The Miami Herald, \u201cThe claim that migrants housed at the Migrant Operations Center are \u201cdetainees\u201d and they lived in prison-like conditions and had their rights violated is false.\u201d\u00a0The spokesperson told The Miami Herald that the facility is \u201chumanitarian in nature and that people can return to their country of origin at any time, while eligible migrants can wait to be resettled.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Miranda told The Miami Herald migrants were given a \u201cfalse choice.\u201d Miranda explained that in reality, \u201cPeople are faced with the choice to wait indefinitely to be resettled somewhere they will be safe or return somewhere where they face persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to stories like the one Miranda told\u00a0The Miami Herald,\u00a0The Latin Times<\/a>\u00a0outlined complaints of inadequate healthcare, unlivable conditions, and inaccessibility to legal communication. Despite these assertions, the same Department of State spokesperson who spoke to The\u00a0Miami Herald\u00a0claimed conditions are appropriate for migrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation in Guantanamo Bay reminds me that there is a lot of bias that goes into immigration,\u201d said Paola Rodriguez. Rodriguez says the tables have turned. \u201c50-60 years ago, if Cuban immigrants touched U.S. soil, they would become U.S. citizens,\u201d said Rodriguez. \u201cNow, it\u2019s not as easy to get U.S. citizenship; it\u2019s much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old policy for Cuban immigrants was known as the \u201cWet Foot, Dry Foot\u201d policy. If a Cuban was intercepted at sea by U.S. officials, they would be sent back to Cuba or forced to resettle in a different country. However, if a Cuban made it to the U.S. on land they were allowed to stay and could apply for residency after one year. The new policy no longer allows Cubans to receive automatic legal status. Instead, Cubans who reach the U.S. are treated like everyone else and have to go through the full legal process.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez encourages further advocacy in response to the spokesperson\u2019s statement published in\u00a0The Miami Herald.\u00a0 \u201cI think we just have to call out the U.S.,\u201d said Rodriguez. \u201cOnce activists and human rights groups call it out, more people bring awareness. Let\u2019s work together with human rights groups to ensure human rights are being prioritized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance also believes that human right obligations should be met to avoid mistreatment according to an interview with The Miami Herald. Jozef told The Miami Herald, \u201cThe administration should be working to close the Guant\u00e1namo Migrant Operations Center and to process all asylum seekers in a manner consistent with its human rights obligations.\u201d Similarly to IRAP, The Haitian Bridge Alliance also advocates for humane immigration policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that it became a migrant detention center after previously being a terrorist detention center reflects this idea that immigrants bring in bad,\u201d said Paola Rodriguez. \u201cOr suggests Mexicans are coming in and bringing drugs and rapists, furthering the false sentiment that these immigrants are bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a common perception among many Americans, including Eileen McCann, a Collingswood, NJ resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like to hear that anyone is living in inhuman conditions, but I am sure the conditions are better than where they came from,\u201d said McCann. \u201cThey are entering the country illegally- therefore, in the eyes of the American government, they are considered criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interviews\/Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daphne Banino, Princeton University Junior<\/p>\n

Paola Rodriguez, Princeton University Senior in the Neuroscience Department<\/p>\n

Eileen McCann, Pedestrian on Nassau street from Collingswood, NJ<\/p>\n

Report by IRAP\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/refugeerights.org\/news-resources\/offshoring-human-rights-detention-of-refugees-at-guantanamo-bay<\/a><\/p>\n

Article by\u00a0The Latin Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.latintimes.com\/report-says-migrants-held-guantanamo-face-inhumane-conditions-dhs-denies-claims-560076<\/a><\/p>\n

Article by\u00a0The Miami Herald\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/immigration\/article292791559.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a report claiming migrants held at a federal facility in Guantanamo Bay lived in close-quartered living conditions contaminated by mold and sewage, had inaccessibility to legal communication, and limited access to supplies, clean hygiene, and food according to the The Miami Herald. The International Refugee Assistance Project works<\/p>\n

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