PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kristen C. Ochoa
AU  - Gregory L. Pleasants
AU  - Joseph V. Penn
AU  - David C. Stone
TI  - Disparities in Justice and Care: Persons With Severe Mental Illnesses in the U.S. Immigration Detention System
DP  - 2010 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 392--399
VI  - 38
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/38/3/392.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/38/3/392.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2010 Sep 01; 38
AB  - As the total number of persons held within the U.S. immigration detention system has grown, the number of detained persons with severe mental illnesses has grown correspondingly. Reports issued by the government, legal and human rights advocates, and the media have brought to light a problematic and growing detention system with pervasive legal and mental health care disparities. Described are the structure and funding of the U.S. immigration detention system, the legal state of affairs for immigration detainees with mental illnesses, and what is known about the present system of mental health care within the U.S. immigration detention system. Attention is given to the paucity of legal protections for immigration detainees with severe mental illnesses, such as no right to appointed legal counsel and no requirement for mental competence before undergoing deportation proceedings. A case example and discussion of potential alternatives to detention highlight the need for wide-ranging reform.