The Power of Numbers: A Call to Action Within the Discussion of Immigration

By Meghan McCarroll and Gena Medoff

The information included in this blog is based on a review of literature surrounding immigration detention, as well as qualitative interviews and participant observations conducted over a 10-week period by a two person student research team. Data identifiers were obscured in the study using RedCap, and therefore, subject’s names and any other identifying information will not be used, unless otherwise noted, in order to protect participant confidentiality.

The Increasing Numbers of Detention

The United States has historically been known as a land of immigrants, a great melting pot, the land of opportunity where anyone can make it big. Ironically, the United States now also operates the world’s largest immigration detention system. Figure 1 depicts the exponential rise in immigrant detention, with detained populations growing by a factor of 5.6 over the past 24 years. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports detainment of a whopping 396,448 undocumented immigrants during the 2018 fiscal year, which shows an increase of 22.5% from 2017. And while the number of unauthorized arrivals into the country has dropped by 46% over the last twelve years, the number of undocumented individuals being held in detainment continues to grow. [1]
 

Figure 1: Increases in Daily Average Detained Populations from, 1994 to 2017. (Ryo & Peacock, 2018)
 

The majority of detained individuals “are being held in privately operated and remotely located facilities, far away from basic community support structures and legal advocacy networks.” [2] Although these facilities are violating civil and human rights, the private corporations are raking in nearly $4 billion annually. Even with recent allegations accusing ICE detention center employees of serious misconduct, the government continues to seek further expansion of the facilities. [3]

Close to home is the City of Aurora, Colorado, which is ranked the 36th most culturally diverse city in the United States. [4] Ironically, it is also home to a GEO Group ICE Processing Center. Opened in 1986 to hold roughly 150 detainees, the most recent expansion of the Aurora GEO detainment center, which occurred earlier this year, now allows for a maximum capacity of 1,532 detainees. [5] In 2018, their efforts in detainment contributed to a whopping 2,755 administrative arrests and 3,253 ICE removals of undocumented individuals in Denver. [6]
 

Community responses to Increasing Detention

The statistics from ICE and the GEO group are not the only numbers on the rise. A similar growth can be seen in the number of people that are joining together to challenge the ethics and humanity of immigration detention by providing assistance to those impacted by harmful immigration policies. Located less than 8 miles away from the Aurora GEO detainment center, Casa de Paz is a local non-profit organization that is dedicated to “contributing to the peace and stability of immigrants in the United States.” [7] Their operations are entirely volunteer-run and include providing meals, shelter, transportation, and support for previous detainees and their families. They also operate a visitation program to bring companionship, conversation and comfort to current detainees. Finally, through the numerous volunteer opportunities, Casa de Paz provides an opportunity for community action surrounding immigration and detention. Through a 10-week long qualitative research class at the University of Denver, we learned the following information regarding the creation and inner workings of Casa de Paz from the organization founder and several of its volunteers.

Casa de Paz originally started off as a one-woman show in 2012 when founder, Sarah Jackson, created this incredible organization out of her one-bedroom apartment. After two years of solo activism, Sarah recognized a growing desire in the community to get involved in immigration issues, leading her to open her doors for volunteer assistance. In 2017, Casa de Paz outgrew its one-bedroom apartment and moved to a four-bedroom house. Over the last seven years, Casa de Paz has mimicked the increasing numbers of detainment by training over 1,000 volunteers in the Denver Metro Area. The visitation program for current detainees was originally just a handful of volunteers. It has since grown to a consistent group of 40 who schedule 3-5 visitation shifts every Sunday to maximize outreach to detainees without impeding on family visits or GEO’s own processes. All together, Casa de Paz efforts have served over 2,041 guests from 30 countries and provided companionship to even more current detainees at the Aurora GEO detainment center.

The growth of Casa de Paz is happening organically, with the number of volunteers responding to current immigration policies and news exposés that generated significant spikes in community outrage and upset. For example, the organization historically welcomed roughly 10-15 new volunteers per monthly volunteer orientation prior to June of 2018. However, when the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy led to widespread news coverage of child detainment and “kids in cages,” [8] over 300 people showed up for the next volunteer orientation. While the orientations have been less populated recently, they still continue to welcome anywhere from 50 to 100 new volunteers each month, which is a marked increase from pre zero-tolerance orientations. 
 

The Importance of Numbers

Numbers provide a quantifiable understanding of the situation at hand. People remember and are impacted by numbers in a way that generates understanding and inspires action. When people are grappling with the topic of immigrant detention, many of the above numbers are known and mentioned frequently. Casa de Paz volunteers in particular bring up the figures repeatedly when discussing motivations for volunteering. For example, in a blog describing the pick-up of a former detainee from the GEO detainment center, one volunteer frames the cruel and unethical context of detainment in the increasing numbers of ICE arrests and decreasing numbers of asylum awards. When asked specifically about motivation, another volunteer also described the rarity of asylum awards, paired with the large increases in detention populations. Overall, the politics of immigration were deemed to be a powerful motivator for volunteering, spoken in the language of numbers.

Simultaneously, the numbers associated with Casa de Paz’s growth were also frequently cited by volunteers. When asked how many guests were served at the house, Sarah cited the exact number right off the top of her head with pride. Other volunteers brought up the organization’s exponential growth with a tone of amazement and satisfaction. In general, the Casa de Paz figures paint a picture of success and impact that volunteers can easily grasp.

When analyzed together, there is a strong link between the increase in immigrant detainments and the growth of the Casa de Paz community. Comparatively, these categories of figures mirror each other in that an increase in detention and separation of families leads to an increase in volunteer numbers at Casa de Paz. In this relationship, we can understand quantitatively what our qualitative research suggested - namely, that there is a growing call for such immigration activism within the community. People are compelled into action by the numbers within ICE reports. Sarah commented on the June 2018 increase in volunteers that “people can now see the change [of the zero-tolerance policy] and want to do something”. However, at a deeper level, the Casa satisfies much more than a want. There is a demand for tangible action and the Casa provides just that. A visitation volunteer said it best when he emphatically stated, “We need the Casa just as much as the Casa needs us”.

Works Cited

Casa de Paz. (2018). About Us. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from  https://www.casadepazcolorado.org/about-us. 
 

Del Real, Jose A. (2018). The Number of Undocumented Immigrants in the U.S. Has Dropped, a Study Says. Here Are 5 Takeaways. The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/us/illegal-immigrants-population-study.html. 
 

GEO Group, Inc. (2018). Aurora ICE Processing Center. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://www.geogroup.com/FacilityDetail/FacilityID/31. 
 

McCann, Adam. (2018). 2018’s Most Diverse Cities in the U.S. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://wallethub.com/edu/most-diverse-cities/12690/. 
 

Ryo, Emily & Peacock, Ian. (2018). The Landscape of Immigration Detention in the United States. American Immigration Council. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/landscape-immigration-detention-united-states. 
 

Soboroff, Jacob. (2018). Kids In Cages And Other Scenes From Trump’s “Zero-Tolerance” Border. Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from  https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/scenes-from-trumps-zero-tolerance-border. 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2018). ERO FY18 By The Numbers. Retrieved March 18, 2019, from https://www.ice.gov/features/ERO-2018.