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File Name | S22-Policy-NCFCA-35-NEG-Desegregation.docx |
File Size | 231.49 KB |
Date added | January 10, 2022 |
Category | Policy (NCFCA) |
Author | Vance Trefethen |
Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction
Case Summary: The federal government segregates a large percentage of non-citizen federal prisoners in somewhere between 10 to 13 (different sources have different numbers) prisons exclusively for non-citizens. The non-citizens’ prisons lack the rehab programs, halfway houses and early-release opportunities that are granted to “regular” federal prisoners. Note: This is NOT about immigration detention (which would be untopical, since immigrant detainees are not convicted of anything). This is about foreign citizens (mostly Mexicans) who have been convicted of federal crimes. Understand: Some of them were convicted of federal crimes involving entering the country illegally. They are convicted of a crime, they are not detainees awaiting an immigration hearing, so they are subject to this resolution. Most of them are in for drug offenses.
AFF plan will desegregate the non-citizens and mix them into the other prisons with citizen prisoners, probably on the grounds that the non-citizens are suffering from not having access to the rehab, early-release, training and other programs available in the regular prisons.
Oddly enough, this very question was adjudicated in a lawsuit in 2012 (Gallegos-Hernandez versus United States). Gallegos was a Mexican citizen in federal prison and segregated in a non-citizen facility. He was denied programs and opportunities given to citizens in other federal prisons. He sued the federal government arguing this was unjust. The federal district court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that in fact federal prisoners do not have a “right” to any programs, so it is not a violation of anyone’s rights to not give them anything. The 5th Circuit Court in essence heard all the arguments in this debate round and voted Negative.
The NEG position: All the federal government owes its prisoners is to not violate the 8th Amendment (no cruel and unusual punishment) and keep them secure. Anything else is completely discretionary and there’s no reason US taxpayers owe convicted criminal foreign citizens any rehab programs or early release.