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Immigration detention has burst onto the national
scene in the last two weeks.
First, immigrants jailed in three prisons began a
coordinated boycott of their detention review processes. Detention reviews are
a bail-like system in the immigration detention regime that are meant to
release migrants from jail. But the boycotting migrants insist the system is
stacked against them.
On June 9, a groundbreaking expose on immigration
detention further justified the boycott. Using government data obtained through
Access to Information and Privacy Act requests, the End Immigration Detention
Network (EIDN) has revealed signs of political interference in the detention
review process.
This is no small matter. Detention reviews are part
of a legal process that upholds the integrity of the immigration detention
system. Each person jailed must be dealt with fairly and on the basis of their
individual case. If there is in fact political interference in this process, it
throws the entire immigration detention system into doubt.
