In the United States, human dignity is placed in high regard. Sadly, despite policies on immigration, the government is detained thousands of people in overcrowded centers, causing them in discomfort, pain and imposing unwarranted grief. Texas, along with other border states, should admit that their facilities inflicted cruel and unusual punishment for people seeking entry into the United States during the Trump administration. 

According to the United States Supreme Court, any unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, detaining people in overcrowded confinements was cruel; this was also done during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those held inside these cramped spaces may have become sick and ultimately died. 

People seeking asylum in the United States are not commiting a felony, not even a misdemeanor, so why were people detained in places where they suffered unwarranted pain? 

There is an obligation by law to treat criminal offenders fairly, proportional to the crime they’ve allegedly committed. If it is maintained that prisons treat even the most vile of human beings humanely, then immigrants should also have been treated in the same manner. People seeking entry into the United States are not just people crossing the border, they are individuals with reasons that forced them to leave their country of origin and migrate. Some of them may have nefarious reasons, but most of them seek a better life in a country, which they believe, is a land full of opportunities. Let us not fail their belief in this country as the greatest there is.

Cases of rampant abuse, negligence, poor living conditions and many more plagued detention centers in Texas and beyond. Reports revealed stories of unhealthy living environments, poor sanitation and disregard for people’s welfare. It is clear to see that this was cruel and unusual punishment for all those who experienced the abusive detention centers.