One case is illustrative of the challenge. An incarcerated person was flagged by ICE while waiting for resolution of court cases. Once cleared for release on probation, ICE took them to a temporary facility in Orem. A judge authorized “self-removal” and staff were given documents necessary to request travel authorization from the relevant embassy, given an expired passport. Similarly, forms establishing an attorney of record were delivered. However, ICE never submitted the request for travel documents nor was the attorney authorization signed, even as ICE represented that they had been.

The next stop was another county jail, but ICE refused to extend the stay there until travel issues could be resolved and a dignified return to their country arranged on a commercial flight with important belongings.

Told that they would be sent to Seattle, they landed in El Paso–one of the worst centers in the system. The next stop was another hell hole in Eloy, AZ, then on to Mesa, AZ, back to El Paso, and Mesa again. Shackled and sleep deprived throughout, they eventually arrived in Tacoma, as the only passenger on a Boeing jet. There they sit, subject to more lies and delays motivated by a for-profit system. Meanwhile the window for self-removal is disappearing.

Utah may need a facility to alleviate some of the issues just described. However, a smaller one would suffice if ICE’s inefficient and dehumanizing treatment ended. Start by allowing jails more detention flexibility. Then, simply release persons without serious criminal records, as most are productive members of our community. Facilitate “self-removal” quickly and give others efficient and humane due process.

Ellen Brady, MD, MPH

Issues Director for the Women’s Democratic Club of Utah