Egregious abuse of solitary confinement is found throughout the U.S. immigration detention system. From 2017 to 2021, the United States imprisoned immigrants in solitary confinement over 14,500 times. In 2017, the average duration of placement was 33 days; in 2022, the average was 22 days, with a high duration of 242 days. The severe physical and mental suffering brought on by these practices constitute torture under international human rights law, which calls for an absolute prohibition of solitary confinement of longer than 15 consecutive days.
This guide provides attorneys and advocates with concrete strategies and tools to free people in U.S. immigration detention from solitary confinement. It details the administrative rules governing solitary confinement in immigration detention, the types of evidence can be gathered to support a demand to leave solitary confinement, and administrative and federal courts strategies to free people from solitary confinement.