The black box within a black box: Solitary confinement practices in a subset of U.S. immigrant detention facilities

Patler, Caitlin; Sacha, Jeffrey O.; Branic, Nicholas

doi:10.1007/s12546-018-9209-8

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In sum, people of color face a disproportionate risk of being placed in solitary confinement; such racial disparities, in turn, mean that the physical health symptoms associated with, or possibly caused by, these conditions of confinement are likely to fall disproportionately on certain groups. Though we do not explore other risk factors for over-representation in solitary confinement in this paper, we and others have documented serious mental illness [20,80], transgender identification [81], and pregnant women [82] as particularly vulnerable to both incarceration and solitary confinement, suggesting additional sub-groups who might face disproportionate and unique risks of physical health problems in solitary confinement.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 78%

The body in isolation: The physical health impacts of incarceration in solitary confinement

et al. 2020

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We examine how solitary confinement correlates with self-reported adverse physical health outcomes, and how such outcomes extend the understanding of the health disparities associated with incarceration. Using a mixed methods approach, we find that solitary confinement is associated not just with mental, but also with physical health problems. Given the disproportionate use of solitary among incarcerated people of color, these symptoms are most likely to affect those populations. Drawing from a random sample of prisoners (n = 106) in long-term solitary confinement in the Washington State Department of Corrections in 2017, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) assessments; and systematic reviews of medical and disciplinary files for these subjects. We also conducted a paper survey of the entire long-term solitary confinement population (n = 225 respondents) and analyzed administrative data for the entire population of prisoners in the state in 2017 (n = 17,943). Results reflect qualitative content and descriptive statistical analysis. BPRS scores reflect clinically significant somatic concerns in 15% of sample. Objective specification of medical conditions is generally elusive, but that, itself, is a highly informative finding. Using subjective reports, we specify and analyze a range of physical symptoms experienced in solitary confinement: (1) skin irritations and weight fluctuation associated with the restrictive conditions of solitary confinement; (2) untreated and mistreated chronic conditions associated with the restrictive policies of solitary confinement; (3) musculoskeletal pain exacerbated by both restrictive conditions and policies. Administrative data analyses reveal disproportionate rates of racial/ethnic minorities in solitary confinement. This analysis raises the stakes for future studies to evaluate comparative prevalence of objective medical diagnoses and potential causal mechanisms for the physical symptoms specified here, and for understanding differential use of solitary confinement and its medically harmful sequelae.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 78%

The body in isolation: The physical health impacts of incarceration in solitary confinement

et al. 2020

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“…Detained immigrants who are mentally ill are more likely to be placed in solitary confinement for longer periods than people without mental illness (see also Patler et al, 2019), again reflecting patterns documented in the prison context (Clark 2018;American Civil Liberties Union 2019;Kaba et al 2014;Reiter et al 2020;Reiter and Blair 2015). This is particularly troubling since solitary confinement is known to both initiate and exacerbate serious mental illness (Haney, 2018;Reiter and Blair, 2015;UN News, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Scholars agree that solitary confinement, in both the criminal and immigration context, has increased in tandem with mass incarceration (Patler et al 2019 (Dolovich, 2012;Reiter, 2016a;Reiter and Coutin, 2017;Resnik, 2020), with disparate use among racial minorities (Pyrooz and Mitchell, 2019;Reiter, 2012Reiter, , 2016bSakoda and Simes, 2020), and those with pre-existing or new physical and mental health problems (Haney, 2018;Kaba et al, 2014;Kupers, 2017;Lovell, 2008;Patler et al, 2019;Reiter et al, 2020;Reiter and Blair, 2015;Williams et al, 2019).…”

Section: The Punishment Status Quo: An Epidemic Of Solitary Confinementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Punishing status and the punishment status quo: Solitary confinement in U.S. Immigration prisons, 2013–2017

Franco¹,

Patler²,

Reiter³

2020

Punishment & Society

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This study provides the first systematic, nationally representative analysis of administrative records of solitary confinement placements in any carceral setting. We examine patterns in who experiences solitary confinement in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, as well as the stated reason for, and length of, their confinement. We reveal several findings. First, cases involving individuals with mental illnesses are overrepresented, more likely to occur without infraction, and to last longer, compared to cases involving individuals without mental illnesses. Second, solitary confinement cases involving immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean are vastly overrepresented in comparison to the share of these groups in the overall detained population, and African immigrants are more likely to be confined for disciplinary reasons, compared to the average. Finally, placement patterns vary significantly by facility and institution type, with private facilities more likely to solitarily confine people without infraction, compared to public facilities. This study offers a lens through which to more precisely theorize the legal boundary-blurring of crimmigration and the relationship between prison and immigration detention policies, to better understand the practice of solitary confinement across carceral contexts, and to analyze the relationship between national-level policy and on-the-ground implementation.

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“…During Fiscal Year 2015, ICE detained nearly 368,000 adult noncitizens (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse 2016). Though the immigration detention and criminal incarceration systems can be characterized by similar physical environments with similarly punitive characteristics (Longazel et al 2016;Patler, Sacha, and Branic 2019), several important distinctions remain. Most importantly, because immigration law violations are adjudicated under civil law and not criminal law, detention is not legally considered a sentence or a punishment, but rather an administrative holding process for noncitizens awaiting deportation.…”

Section: Immigration Detention Compounded Vulnerability and System mentioning

confidence: 99%

Compounded Vulnerability: The Consequences of Immigration Detention for Institutional Attachment and System Avoidance in Mixed-Immigration-Status Families

Patler

González

2020

Social Problems

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While an extensive body of literature has analyzed the spillover and intergenerational consequences of mass incarceration, fewer studies explore the consequences of a parallel system: mass immigration detention. Every year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement imprisons hundreds of thousands of noncitizens as they await adjudication on their deportation proceedings, sometimes for months or years at a time. Many detained individuals have lived in the United States for decades and have spouses and/or dependent children that rely on them. This analysis brings together research on immigrant families, mass incarceration, and system avoidance to examine the spillover consequences of immigration detention. Using a multigenerational and multi-perspective research design, we analyze 104 interviews conducted in California with detained parents, non-detained spouses/partners, and their school-age children. Findings suggest that members of these mixed-status families may limit their engagement with surveilling institutions during a family member's detention. These experiences are rooted in what we call compounded vulnerability-that is, both in the experience of parental/spousal confinement but also in their positionality as members of mixed-immigration-status families facing the possibility of deportation.

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The black box within a black box: Solitary confinement practices in a subset of U.S. immigrant detention facilities

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

The body in isolation: The physical health impacts of incarceration in solitary confinement

The body in isolation: The physical health impacts of incarceration in solitary confinement

Punishing status and the punishment status quo: Solitary confinement in U.S. Immigration prisons, 2013–2017

Compounded Vulnerability: The Consequences of Immigration Detention for Institutional Attachment and System Avoidance in Mixed-Immigration-Status Families

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