Letter: Building an immigrant detention center in Evanston would wrontly isolate the detainees
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents patrol for undocumented immigrants in Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork on Wednesday March 12, 2008, regularly visiting the jail to determine who to process and how quickly.
I am deeply concerned about the proposed building of an immigration detention center near Evanston, Wyo. I think building such a center far away from population centers, away from legal counsel, family members, clergy and other support systems, feels like an act of intentional isolation.
The men, women and children who will be detained in this proposed center generally have strong ties to the communities they have been living in prior to detention. They should have access to their family members, religious leaders and lawyers. This seems only like the morally right and humane choice to our fellow human beings.
If we must have another immigration detention center in our area, let it be built in a place where access to services and loved ones is much easier.
Catherine Eslinger, Vineyard
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