Report examined punishments at the Essex County Correctional Facility.
Report examined punishments at the Essex County Correctional Facility. (William Perlman | The Star-Ledger)NEWARK -- Is solitary confinement a fair punishment for immigrant detainees? If so, is it regulated properly?
A new report from WNYC examines the punishments doled out to immigrant detainees over a two-year period at the Essex County Correctional Facility. The report called disciplinary standards at the jail a, "system of punishment with very little rules."
According to the report, more than half of the acts that garnered prisoners solitary confinement were non-violent. And the punishments given out for the same offenses were often different, the report said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told WNYC that punishments vary depending on the circumstances.
The question comes a few months after an advocate report found solitary confinement unnecessarily harsh. According to "23 Hours in the Box, Solitary Confinement in New Jersey Immigration Detention," a report from the New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, the punishment was employed too often, and for too long.
The discussion surrounding immigrant detainees comes a week after President Barack Obama was in Newark to talk about general prison reform.
"The goal is to make sure that folks are fairly punished when they break the law," Obama said to a crowd at Rutgers-Newark.
"But the ultimate goal is to make sure that folks are law-abiding, self-sufficient, good citizens. And everything we do should be designed towards that goal."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
