Probably, and the border patrol has released several videos on youtube that show they are provided with 3 square meals a day, constant access to snacks, water, and toiletries like toothbrushes with added toothpaste, diapers and clothes. They are not held against their will, they are not murders by the thousands everyday. They are only prevented from entering the United States illegally, and in the cases of asylum, after processing. Anyone who wishes can go back to Mexico and any time and not have to endure being locked up.
I mean, in short- it’s not particularly apt to compare them to a concentration camp. The term is most strongly associated with camps the Nazis used in the holocaust, and while we can make CERTAIN ideological, political, or mechanical comparisons we are quite a ways off from both the conditions and results of that (at least I hope...) In technical terms it’s debatable if these necessarily fit the definition of a concentration camp even if we remove the precedent of that term being associated with the holocaust.
To be considered a “concentration camp” a large number of people must be deliberately imprisoned in a small space with inadequate facilities. We DO have a large number of people being imprisoned, generally in small spaces, often with inadequate facilities. But the question lies in what we term as deliberate and imprisoned. An argument can certainly be made that the standard American prison system has inadequate facilities- and a standard jail cell is hardly spacious. We can certainly say though that to call a standard American prison a concentration camp would make light of the concept. Likewise we do not fall refugee camps “concentration camps” in places like African border crossings where refugees may be held for a period in close quarters and worse conditions.
In fact, such camps may be the best parallel- with the key determine factor being wether it is the deliberate intent of the United States to imprison and hold refugees at our borders in these camps or wether they are merely in a state of transitive process between extradition or imprisonment in a standard jail facility. In such a case “processing center” or the like may be a more apt word. It’s Semantics and branding really- the reality is these are unpleasant places. These are places none of us would like to be nor we would likely want our loved ones to be there. These are places that if we held American citizens accused of a crime but not yet tried and convicted there would be outcry. Of course- America doesn’t have a soft spot for prisoners either, even the ones merely accused of a crime, and people oppose even the rights of prisoners to proper medical care or other basic human needs- so maybe there wouldn’t be.
If we get past the semantics it really comes down to intent. If we are “doing our best” to tackle the logistical challenges of such mass detainment, and the issues faced in these places are temporary issues as we improve the system to better accommodate the load we ask of it- I don’t know that we can call them “concentration camps.” If we have imposed these conditions because hate, anger, bias, etc. towards a group is either manifest in deliberately inadequate care, or allows the dehumanization of the detainees to the point where practicality is out above their human rights- then I’d say they qualify as concentration camps- not “Nazi concentration camps,” but by the letter of the definition a concentration camp.
“In short” refers to the sentence immediately after it in this case. That sentence sums up a general idea of the thought- but lacks the depth and context provided later.
While “internment” camp is often used in tones of war- I think it’s certainly apt, and the “weight,” history, etc. of the word is a better fit. Internment camps are usually semi temporary and somewhat ad hoc in nature. They differ from prisons as they are usually used to house people who are believed to POSSIBLY pose a danger wether there is any case by case evidence beyond assumption or the superficial- or any real danger at all- internment is usually carried without trial or defense and quite often on racial, religious, National, or ethnic grounds. So yes- I would say internment camp fits well. Interestingly enough- history tends to not favor such camps, with Japanese internment in WW2 still being a blotch on US history- and in a dark twist, for practical purposes several former Japanese internment camps were selected as sites for detaining immigrants.
I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we were building these detainment centers with friggin diamonds??? What the heck is vacuuming up that much money? Don’t just send them to school, send them to Harvard with that much cash.
To those wondering about the cost: US prisons generally cost about $80 a day for each inmate. One of ICES established detention centers can House an inmate for about $150 according to ICE, and about $200 for anyone who actually included the cost of guards and staff into the number. Now- we need to establish some facts about these numbers.
Firstly, the “cost per inmate” is usually calculated based off the detention budget an organization has, divided by the number of inmates. This is an imperfect number to start as it ignores key factors. For instance- if a new prison opens, or a low security “rehab” center, new medical facilities etc- this factors in to the “per inmate cost.” So if a prison system was allocated $200 million dollars in a year or over a few years to build a new hospital- the costs of that would be included in the “per inmate” costs even though the hospital wasn’t complete and able to serve inmates- for those fiscal years the number would jump and ten fall again. This will be relevant in a moment.
In order to process the vast number of immigrants recent policy have stirred up- a great number of temporary facilities needed to be constructed. By their nature such facilities will cost more. Think of it like “surge pricing.” There are only so many suppliers of tents and etc- and a sudden demand with a rush order will carry higher fees. The staff and hours required to set everything up- and due to the urgency and sudden nature of demand there will be a lack of staff for a period which will likely result in large expense in over time hours and the like.
Now- the NATURE of the processing further contributed to this. Normally, if there were simply a slight increase in need ICE could set up temporary centers much cheaper than $700+ a day. The average cost to house an entire family together at such a center is about $330 a night. But mom and dad may have more than one child. Maybe 2,3 or more. When you start to separate them you now exponentially increase the need for housing. The deprecated children will require their own cells. This exacerbates the previous issues of the logistics required to QUICKLY set up secure and adequate facilities and get the necessities set up- as well as needing additional personnel for processing, administration, guards for a while separate make shift prison city, etc.
The construction and set up of such facilities then gets divided by the number of children resulting in a high cost. A permanent facility can recoup its costs over time- temporary facilities do not- and their deconstruction and removal will also cost additional money.
As to the idea that they could “get a hotel” or such for that much- not necessarily. You’d need to book hotel rooms for hundreds or thousands of people- rooms which were secure enough to function as a prison and deemed safe for prisoners (no objects that can be used as weapons etc.) You’d need a way to provide each room meals and the like on that scale, and guards as well. You’d need enough vehicles and fuel and personnel to transport that number of people securely, and a hotel etc. that’s ok with armed guards escorting prisoners through the place as well as the noise and all else involved.
Would it be more appropriate to identify them as internment camps then?