“He’s just disappeared”: What it’s like to be detained by ICE — and why some prefer to be deported

Advocates are cautioning that detention in American immigration centers is a distressing form of punishment amid increased deportations under President Donald Trump’s administration. Stefania Artga, a co-founder of the Carolina Migrant Network, runs a hotline for reporting immigration enforcement and legal assistance in North and South Carolina. Residents fear contacting law enforcement due to potential ICE involvement. Children skip school, and parents miss work out of fear of detention consequences. Detainees lack rights and face uncertainty, with some held for years before being transferred to facilities like Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. Detainees struggle without legal representation, facing language barriers and a complex system. Reports of abuses in detention centers, such as medical neglect and overcrowding, have been compiled by the Detention Watch Network. Some detainees prefer deportation over continued mistreatment in detention. Families find it challenging to locate detained loved ones. The Hispanic community in the U.S. is particularly concerned about the threat of detention and deportation, with even Puerto Ricans reportedly targeted by ICE. ICE denies racial or ethnic profiling in their enforcement actions. The practice of sharing immigrant taxpayer information with the Department of Homeland Security has raised privacy concerns. Instead of addressing backlogs, resources are diverted towards instilling fear in immigrant communities.