Cecot, the new megaprison built by El Salvador, has garnered international headlines for its size. It is infamous for its brutal ponce treatment for convicted criminals and undocumented United States migrants. Opened only this January, this facility has quickly filled with inmates—nearly reaching its 40,000 capacity. As importantly, critics maintain that Cecot represents a major regression in human rights jurisprudence. They note that deportees are housed in the same brutal conditions as gang members.
Constructed in a record seven months, Cecot puts security at the top of the list when it comes to priorities. The maximum-security prison is known for its several electric fences and 19 watchtowers. During the lockdown, more than a thousand armed guards rotate shifts, providing constant surveillance. Each of Cecot’s eight self-sufficient sectors detains inmates in large, open cells, with some cells containing up to 100 men. Inmates even spend 23½ hours a day locked into these cells, with next to no contact with the outside world.
The situation inside Cecot has spurred deep concerns from human rights advocates. Deportees from the U.S. now endure the same restrictions and surveillance as convicted gangsters. This ongoing situation has moved us to act. Millions of people who built their lives in the United States over the past two decades now risk deportation back to their country of origin.
Cecot was planned as a self-sufficient facility with its own conference rooms and medical clinic. If only this were true, because the reality for the inmates is night and day. They are never allowed out of their warehouse type building, and their lives are spent under 24 hour surveillance. With lights left on 24/7, that ensures they’re never out of sight.
Belarmino García, the director of Cecot, recognized the common living situations of deportees and convicts. He stated that “the deportees are living in the same conditions as convicted gangsters,” highlighting the prison’s indiscriminate approach to housing different groups of inmates.
Cecot has an important role to play for the U.S. government. The program plays a key role in detaining undocumented immigrants who pose public safety threats by committing serious crimes. This brings up huge questions about the civil rights implications of these policies. It even affects the way we treat people who might otherwise be law-abiding citizens.
Critics point out that Cecot’s structure and operational model put flesh on the bones of the quick death of rights. This is particularly the case in regards to punitive immigration enforcement. The new facility represents a burgeoning shift in the Sunshine State’s treatment of deportees and undocumented immigrants. This is a developing story as the landscape around federal immigration reform continues to change.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has made clear the Biden administration’s opposition to illegal immigration. She stated, “First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed, and you will be prosecuted.” This declaration is consistent with Cecot’s leadership over a detention center designed to impose harsher immigration enforcement.
