Policy Statements

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGY-LAW SOCIETY (AP-LS) POLICY STATEMENT ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION

This is an official statement of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), Division 41 of the American Psychological Association, and does not represent the position of the American Psychological Association or any of its other divisions or subunits.

View PDF of Statement

Executive Summary

The American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) has significant concerns regarding the expansion of immigration detention in the United States, including rising numbers of detained children. A substantial body of research demonstrates that immigration detention is associated with significant and often lasting mental health harm, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Furthermore, recent reports and investigations document systemic deficiencies in care, the overuse of segregation, credible allegations of abuse and neglect, and an increasing number of deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. In light of this evidence, AP-LS calls for reducing reliance on detention, prioritizing community-based alternatives, improving access to mental health care, strengthening oversight and accountability, and implementing reforms to reduce prolonged detention. These recommendations are grounded in psychological science and align with AP-LS’s commitment to enhancing well-being, justice, and human rights.

Background

Grounded in a substantial body of science and clinical expertise in psychology and law, the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) recognizes the serious mental health and legal concerns associated with the expansion of immigration detention in the United States. Recent data indicate substantial increases in the detained population and investments to expand detention capacity. Reporting further indicates that the number of children held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention has risen significantly, increasing several-fold since the beginning of 2025.

A large body of research shows that immigration detention is associated with clinically significant mental health deterioration. Systematic reviews have found high rates of depression, anxiety, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychological distress among people in immigration detention. Longer periods of detention are associated with worse mental health outcomes, and adverse effects frequently persist after release. For children, research in detention contexts has shown profound and lasting psychological harm, with some scholars concluding that no period of immigration detention can be considered developmentally safe.

Reports of abuses in immigration detention have persisted for decades and include documented allegations of sexual abuse, forced labor, overuse or inappropriate use of segregation, inadequate medical and mental health care, and restricted access to religious freedom. More recently, a 2026 congressional investigation received over a thousand credible reports of human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention since January 2025, including medical neglect, denial of adequate food and water, sleep deprivation, and mistreatment of pregnant people.

Recent reporting and governmental investigations have also documented an increase in the number of deaths of immigrants detained in ICE custody, a pattern that predates the current administration. A study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the mortality rate in ICE detention for fiscal year 2026 was the highest observed in over two decades and exceeded mortality rates reported in ICE detention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these deaths resulted from suicide. A retrospective analysis of deaths in ICE detention from 2010 to 2020 found that the annual suicide rate increased substantially in 2020 compared to the prior decade. These findings are consistent with the broader correctional mental health literature, which shows elevated suicide risk in jails relative to the general population, a setting characterized by uncertainty and often inadequate mental health care.

Although immigration detention is legally civil in nature and ostensibly intended to be preventive rather than punitive, conditions of confinement often mirror those in pretrial criminal detention in the U.S., where suicide remains the leading cause of death. Individuals in ICE custody are frequently housed in state or local jails that contract with ICE to provide detention space. Immigration detention also introduces additional psychological stressors, including prolonged legal uncertainty and limited procedural protections compared to criminal proceedings. Individuals in immigration detention do not have a constitutional right to government-appointed counsel. Even when represented, attorneys are often geographically distant from detention facilities, limiting access. Furthermore, reductions in the number of Immigration Judges have contributed to growing court backlogs nationwide, delaying case processing and increasing the risk of prolonged periods of detention.

Investigations into detention conditions have documented systemic deficiencies in the provision of timely and adequate medical and mental health care within ICE facilities, including concerns related to screening, access to treatment, suicide prevention practices, and clinical staffing levels. Reports have also documented the overuse of segregation for detainees with mental illness, a practice associated with increased risk of self-harm and suicide. The use of segregated housing is particularly egregious for children. The American Psychological Association (APA) has adopted a resolution opposing the involuntary isolation of youth in a locked cell except in exigent circumstances. Additionally, a growing body of governmental, legal, and public health scholarship has raised concerns that immigration detention operates with less transparency and external oversight than correctional systems in the criminal legal context.

Implications for Mental Health Outcomes

When mental health needs go unmet in custodial environments, particularly in the presence of well documented psychological risk factors, such as legal uncertainty, family separation, language barriers, trauma histories, delayed proceedings, due process concerns, and denial of religious rights, the likelihood of adverse mental health outcomes, self-harm, and suicide, can be expected to increase substantially as consistently demonstrated across correctional-based research.

Recommendations

Grounded in psychological science and consistent with AP-LS’s mission to enhance well-being, justice, and human rights through the science and practice of psychology in legal contexts, we call for:

  1. Reducing reliance on mass immigration detention and prioritizing community-based alternatives, especially for children, families, and medically/psychiatrically vulnerable individuals.
  2. Eliminating the detention of children that is in violation of the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement.
  3. Supporting legislation that increases the number of Immigration Judges and court personnel to improve case processing efficiency, reduce backlogs, and minimize prolonged detention.
  4. Ensuring timely access to mental health screening, mental health treatment, crisis intervention, and qualified language access that is aligned with evidence-based correctional mental health practices.
  5. Ensuring adequate levels of qualified mental health professionals to provide timely assessment, diagnosis, treatment and other services necessary to meet the clinical needs of detained individuals.
  6. Limiting and closely regulating the use of restrictive housing or segregation, particularly for people with mental illness and other known or suspected vulnerabilities (e.g., those with intellectual or developmental disabilities).
  7. Establishing robust independent oversight and transparent accountability mechanisms, including standardized public reporting of data on staff and detention population demographics, housing status, identified mental health conditions, available mental health services, mortality rates, morbidity and mortality reviews, and tracking of implementation of corrective actions.
  8. Creating suicide prevention programs across all immigration detention facilities.
  9. Promoting collaborative and transparent research on the psychological impacts of detention on individuals held under ICE custody and effective actions to prevent and reduce harms. This is consistent with the need for more rigorous research in correctional mental health broadly.
  10. Facilitating trainings for psychologists working in immigration detention that cover local ICE detention policies, inter-agency collaboration, evolving psychological science on correctional mental health and immigration mental health, cross-cultural psychology, and detention dynamics that directly impact immigration court proceedings.

Date: July 1, 2026

References

  1. Chishti, M., Gelatt, J., & Bolter, J. (2025, October 29). U.S. immigrant detention grows to record heights under Trump administration. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-immigrant-detention
  2. Deportation Data Project. (n.d.). Deportation Data Project: U.S. immigration enforcement data repository. DeportationData.org. https://deportationdata.org/; The Marshall Project. (2026, January 29). ICE kids in detention numbers. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/29/ice-kids-in-detention-numbers
  3. Robjant, K., Hassan, R., & Katona, C. (2009). Mental health implications of detaining asylum seekers: A systematic review. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 194(4), 306–312. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.108.053223; Keller, A. S., Rosenfeld, B., Trinh-Shevrin, C., Meserve, C., Sachs, E., Leviss, J. A., Singer, E., Smith, H., Wilkinson, J., Kim, G., Allden, K., & Ford, D. (2003). Mental health of detained asylum seekers. The Lancet, 362(9397), 1721–1723. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14846-5; Verhülsdonk, I., Shahab, M., & Molendijk, M. L. (2021). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among refugees and migrants in immigration detention: Systematic review with meta-analysis. BJPsych Open, 7(6), e204. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.1026
  4. Priestley, I., et al. (2025). The impact of immigration detention on children’s mental health: A systematic review. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 227(6), 870-879. Advance online publication. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/5999502392197C4867B779D38A3FBF36
  5. Shahshahani, A., & Burke, K. (2022). Deploying international law to combat forced labor in immigration detention centers. Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, 37(1). https://www.law.georgetown.edu/immigration-law-journal/in-print/volume-37-issue-1-fall-2022/deploying-international-law-to-combat-forced-labor-in-immigration-detention-centers/; Speri, A. (2018, April 11). Detained, then violated: 1,224 complaints reveal a pattern of sexual abuse in immigration detention facilities. The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2018/04/11/immigration-detention-sexual-abuse-ice-dhs/; Perlmutter, A., & Corradini, M. (2012). Invisible in isolation: The use of segregation and solitary confinement in immigration detention. Physicians for Human Rights & National Immigrant Justice Center. https://phr.org/our-work/resources/invisible-in-isolation/; Physicians for Human Rights, Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, & Harvard Medical School. (2024). “Endless nightmare”: Torture and inhuman treatment in solitary confinement in U.S. immigration detention. Physicians for Human Rights. https://phr.org/our-work/resources/endless-nightmare-solitary-confinement-in-us-immigration-detention/ Sverdlik, A. (2019, March 20). Border Patrol and ICE routinely violate migrants’ rights. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/border-patrol-and-ice-routinely-violate; Tellez, D., Tejkl, L., McLaughlin, D., Vallet, M., Abrahim, O., & Spiegel, P. B. (2022). The United States detention system for migrants: Patterns of negligence and inconsistency. Journal of Migration and Health, 6, Article 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmh.2022.100141; U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. (2017, December 21). U.S. Commission on Civil Rights concerned with alleged abusive labor practices at immigration detention centers. https://www.usccr.gov/files/press/2017/12-21-PR.pdf
  6. Ossoff, J. (2026). Patterns of abuse and neglect in immigration detention facilities (Investigative report). U.S. Senate. https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260114_Report_Patterns_v5.pdf
  7. Del Mastro, I., Clausen, L., & Kladzyk, R. (2026, January 12). ICE inspections plummeted as detentions soared in 2025. Project On Government Oversight. https://www.pogo.org/investigates/ice-inspections-plummeted-as-detentions-soared-in-2025; Kriel. L. & DeGuzman, C. (2026, February 20). Six deaths in six weeks: What to know about ICE detentions in Texas. Texas Public Radio. https://www.tpr.org/news/2026-02-20/six-deaths-in-six-weeks-what-to-know-about-ice-detections-in-texas
  8. Basu, S., Huynh, B. Q., Kiang, M. V., Chin, E. T., & Andrews, J. R. (2026). Mortality in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. JAMA, 335(18), 1632–1635. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2026.3719
  9. Erfani, P., Chin, E. T., Lee, C. H., Uppal, N., & Peeler, K. R. (2021). Suicide rates of migrants in United States immigration detention (2010–2020). AIMS Public Health, 8(3), 416–420. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2021031
  10. Barber-Rioja, V., Roth, L., Subedi, B., & Chen, M. (2023). Mental health treatment in jails. In V. Barber-Rioja, A. Garcia-Mansilla, B. Subedi, & A. B. Batastini (Eds.), Handbook of mental health assessment and treatment in jails (pp. 38–56). Oxford University Press; Gibson, B., & Elliott, W. (2020). Before the pandemic, the original crisis: Mental health services. National Commission on Correctional Health Care; Hayes, L. M. (2012). National study of jail suicide: 20 years later. Corrections Today, 18(3), 1–15.
  11. Carson, E. A. (2021a). Mortality in state and federal prisons, 2001–2019 – Statistical tables (NCJ 300953). U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/msfp0119st.pdf: Carson, E. A. (2021b). Mortality in local jails, 2000–2019 – Statistical tables (NCJ 301368). U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/mlj0019st.pdf
  12. Barber-Rioja, V., Akinsulure-Smith, A. M., & Vendzules, S. (2022). Mental health evaluations in immigration court: A guide for mental health and legal professionals. NYU Press.
  13. Bush-Joseph, K., Meissner, D., & Chishti, M. (2025, November). Breaking the cycle of dysfunction at the U.S. immigration courts. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/dysfunction-immigration-courts; Mathur, A. & Bustillo, X. (2026, February 23). U.S. has a quarter fewer immigration judges than it did a year ago. Here’s why. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/23/g-s1-110911/trump-immigration-judges-dismissals-numbers
  14. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General. (2019). Concerns about ICE detainee treatment and care at four detention facilities (OIG-19-47). https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2019-06/OIG-19-47-Jun19.pdf
  15. California Department of Justice. (2025). Immigration detention in California: A comprehensive review. https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/immigration-detention-2025.pdf; Favril, L., Yu, R., Hawton, K., & Fazel, S. (2020). Risk factors for self-harm in prison: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(8), 682–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30190-5; Kaba, F., Lewis, A., Glowa-Kollisch, S., Hadler, J., Lee, D., Alper, H., Selling, D., MacDonald, R., Solimo, A., Parsons, A., & Venters, H. (2014). Solitary confinement and risk of self-harm among jail inmates. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3), 442–447. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301742; Woodman, S., Kehoe, K., Saleh, M., & Rappleye, H. (2019, May 21). Thousands of immigrants suffer in US solitary confinement. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. https://www.icij.org/investigations/solitary-voices/thousands-of-immigrants-suffer-in-us-solitary-confinement/
  16. American Civil Liberties Union. (2013, November). Alone and afraid: Children held in solitary confinement and isolation in juvenile detention and correctional facilities. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/alone_and_afraid_complete_final.pdf; American Psychological Association. (2024, February). APA resolution opposing involuntary individual isolation of youth in juvenile justice settings. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/isolation-youth.pdf.
  17. U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2021). Immigration detention: Actions needed to improve planning, documentation, and oversight of detention facility contacts. (GAO-21-149). GAO-21-149 PDF; U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023). Immigration detention: ICE can improve oversight and management (GAO-23-106350). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106350; U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2025). Immigration detention: DHS should define goals and measures to assess facility inspection programs (GAO-25-10780). https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107580.pdf
  18. Hayes, L. M. (2012). National study of jail suicide: 20 years later. Corrections Today, 18(3), 1–15; Favril, L., Yu, R., Hawton, K., & Fazel, S. (2022). Favril, L., Yu, R., Hawton, K., & Fazel, S. (2020). Risk factors for self-harm in prison: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(8), 682–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30190-5; Keller, A. S., Rosenfeld, B., Trinh-Shevrin, C., Meserve, C., Sachs, E., Leviss, J. A., Singer, E., Smith, H., Wilkinson, J., Kim, G., Allden, K., & Ford, D. (2003). Mental health of detained asylum seekers. The Lancet, 362(9397), 1721–1723. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14846-5; Zhong, S., Senior, M., Yu, R., Perry, A., Hawton, K., Shaw, J., & Fazel, S. (2021). Risk factors for suicide in prisons: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 6(3), e164–e174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30233-4
  19. Batastini, A. B., Eno Louden, J & Barber-Rioja, V. (2024). Open up and let us in: An introduction to the special issue on emerging issues in correctional policy, research, and practice. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 30(1), 1–6.

The mission of the American Psychology-Law Society is to enhance well-being, justice, and human rights through the science and practice of psychology in legal contexts. We stand strongly against racism, prejudice, and hate in all its forms. The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless other Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are unacceptable. These instances of horrific violence once again illustrate the profound systemic inequities and injustices toward marginalized and oppressed communities in the United States and around the world broadly and more specifically in our criminal justice, civil justice, legal, and carceral systems.

We recognize that racism does not occur in isolation, and its effects are heightened for people who also experience discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, social class, religion, immigration status, and other identities. Likewise, the negative effects of racism multiply across contexts. Recently, racial/ethnic disparities related to COVID-19, health care access, and the spread of COVID-19 in criminal and juvenile justice systems have magnified these profound inequities and injustices.

We believe that, through research, education, and training, better policies and practices can be developed to make the criminal justice, civil justice, legal, and carceral systems more equitable, just, and responsive to the needs of the communities in which they work.

As AP-LS members, we must engage in dialogue and action to create change within our society, our educational and legal institutions, and in our communities. We must engage in stronger efforts that support equity, inclusion, and just outcomes through our research, practice, teaching, and other professional activities. As a society, we seek to join other organizations to promote justice, put a spotlight on injustice, and condemn racism in all its forms. We stand together with Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color and other oppressed groups and recommit to working together to ensure justice for all.

Soon after the tragedy involving the death of George Floyd, AP-LS issued a statement in solidarity and to entrench our strong stand against hate in all forms. In response to the senseless killings of eight individuals in the Atlanta, Georgia area, largely because of the intersectionality of their gender and Asian heritage, AP-LS issues a second statement. AP-LS is committed to finding ways to combat prejudice and discrimination through the research, teaching, and practice of psychological science and law. For further resources and to see the statement issued by the Asian American Psychological Association {{<

The mission of the American Psychology-Law Society is to enhance well-being, justice, and human rights through the science and practice of psychology in legal contexts. We stand strongly against misogyny, racism, prejudice, and hate in all forms. On March 16, 2021, eight individuals, including six women of Asian heritage, were senselessly gunned down in the larger Atlanta, Georgia area.

Their names are: Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong AeYue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng.These tragic deaths and countless others because of skin color, gender, and background—and their intersection—are unacceptable. Instances of violence and hate against Asian and Asian American/Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in particular have been on the rise; according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, Anti-Asian hate crime rose 149% in 2020, despite a 7% decrease in hate crime overall.

March 8, 2021, a mere eight days before the Atlanta-area killings, we celebrated International Women's Day. The theme of this year's International Women's Day was "Choose to Challenge." That is, the theme was to make the choice to challenge and call out bias and inequality against women when we see it—and to raise your right hand in support and commitment.

As a society, AP-LS chooses to raise our right hand for the individuals killed on March 16, 2021, especially those targeted because of their intersectional identity as Asian women. We raise our right hand against all forms of bias, discrimination, prejudice, and inequality. We recognize that prejudice does not occur in isolation, and its effects are heightened for people who experience discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, social class, religion, immigration status, and other identities—and the intersection of these.As AP-LS members, we must engage in dialogue and action to create change within our society, our educational and legal institutions, and in our communities. We must speak out against hate, violence, and inequality whenever and wherever it occurs. We must continue to engage in stronger efforts that support equity, inclusion, and just outcomes through our research, practice, teaching, and other professional activities. We are committed to working together to ensure justice for all.