Some of the second half of Lisa Ko’s novel The Leavers, is written from the first-person point of view of Peilan or Polly Guo. Peilan states the reason why she left her son. She proves that it was out of force and indicates that she spent time in a detention facility. The name of the facility that she was placed in by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, was the Ardsleyville immigration detention center. While this name fictional, the way that she describes her life in it is not. While Polly tends to speak vaguely about her experience in the facility due to trauma, there are many sources out there that prove the horror these immigrants are forced to live through.
In an article written by Breanna Cary, she illustrates the living conditions of these facilities. Immigrants that live in these facilities are both criminals and not. Therefore, innocent people are being ripped of their lives and from their families for simply wanting a better life. Cary states that of the over 100 immigration detention centers in the U.S., most are distant from any major cities causing them to be far from any immigration courts. Some of these detention centers are a portion of a federal or state jail where people who are actually convicted of crimes are housed. This, without any more information, is a clear indication that these immigrants are treated on the same playing field as actual criminals.
Furthermore, Cary suggests that most of the immigrant personal belongings are taken and they are referred to by their alien registration number, not their names. It is not common that they can speak to any outside relatives or friends without seeking approval and for a short amount of time. This disconnection from the outside world and complete dehumanization is clear indication of why Peilan is so resistant towards talking about it. Similar to when prisoners are released from jail, when the immigrants are released from the detention facilities it can be very difficult to adjust to the new life, they are forced to live whether it is back in their country of origin or the United States.
Ko, Lisa. The Leavers. Little, Brown, 2018
Breanna Cary, J.D. “Living Conditions in U.S. Immigration Detention Centers.” Www.nolo.com, Nolo, 3 June 2020, www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/living-conditions-immigration-detention-centers.html.
I really enjoyed reading your presentation, as I find US immigration interesting to read about. I did not know that these immigration camps are purposely distanced from major cities and immigration courts. I find this disturbing yet not surprising given the United States’ immigration laws and views on immigrants. I also was unaware that they are assigned numbers instead of calling them by their names. I feel that this gives these camps a prison-like complex and is inhumane. Thanks for posting an interesting presentation for us!
I found your context presentation to be quite informative and extremely interested as it is a topic that I have done some research on as well for other classes. I am very passionate about the lack of humane conditions and the mistreatment of the immigrant who are forced to stay in this facility. Knowing this background I can relate far more to Peilan and I have empathy towards her as I can comprehend why she does not want to talk about her experience. Understanding the traumatizing experience that she went through is important to be able to reason with her logic and to truly get an in depth look at her character and to sympathize with her. This context presentation does a magnificent job at describing the trauma Peilan suffered at the facility as not many people are truly informed of what happens in these facilities and why they are so inhumane.
I found your presentation to be very enlightening. I have not done too much research into how a lot of these immigrants are treated in these detention centers. The thing that really seemed cruel to me was putting them in a far distance from major cities to hurt their chances of going to court and trying to get out of this system. This presentation helps shed more light on what Peilan had to deal with in Ko’s novel. The de-humanization of immigrants is quite cruel and has a big effect on their lives after they get released as seen in Ko’s novel.
People are left in cages and in places that are crowed and unsanitary and are not safe. There are many offers who take advantage of women sexually. People can be detained for months with no answer from anyone. The entire idea of a detention center has never sat right with me and I do not believe that the topic is talked about as much as it should be. Sometimes people are sleeping on the floor with no clean clothes and are separated from family members in different areas. People should be treated better than they are no matter where they were born at. Things need to e changed and immigrants should be treated better because they are still humans at the end of the day.
Thank you for your presentation! The presentation gives me a deeper unstanding of immgiration issue. The detenticon for immigrantion has poor living situation. They sleep as heads by heads. In addition, immigrants are sent to cages, so thus they don’t feel any belongings to the country they just step in. I consider people should aware the importatnce of immigrants issue and treat them equally.
I really enjoyed reading your presentation because I’m interested in learning more about immigration in the United States. I had no idea that these detention centers are strategically located away from major cities and immigration courts. This is alarming, but not surprising, given US immigration laws and attitudes toward immigrants. I was also unaware that instead of calling them by their names, they are given numbers. This, I believe, gives these camps a prison-like atmosphere and is inhumane.
Thank you for your presnentation about detention that give me deeper understanding on the reading. When i read the artciles, i have no ideas about how bad sanitary situation in detention center it was. Immirgration were treated badly, and they were separated from their family members. In addition, they didn’t feel belongings to this new country one they step in. It lets me feel detection center like prison for immigration, because they only have numbers not their names. Also, I consider U.S. immigration laws really helped immigrations to be treated more equally.