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Tuesday, Mar 26, 2013 4:15 PM UTC

DHS to review solitary confinement of immigrants

According to reports, hundreds of detained immigrants are held in isolation

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Topics: dhs, ICE, Solitary Confinement, Janet Napolitano, Illegal immigrants, Immigration,

DHS to review solitary confinement of immigrantsHomeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano(Credit: AP)

As Salon noted Monday, reports emerged this week that hundreds of unauthorized immigrants detained in mass civil detention centers are held in solitary confinement. The New York Times reported that on any given day in the 50 vast ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centers, around 300 people are held in solitary.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded to the revelations Tuesday and said that detention policies would be reviewed. Napolitano also expressed some skepticism about the Times’ report. Via HuffPo:

“I was not wild about the story,” she said at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “But I think solitary confinement should be the exception, not the rule. … So I’ve asked ICE to go back and give me information on the specific cases that were referenced, when those occurred, [whether] the ‘facts’ — ‘facts,’ I say that in quotes — that were reported were accurate, and then looking at all of our policies with respect to solitary.”

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

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