The International Public Service Association had a panel discussion at King Juan Carlos Center about immigration; the treatment immigrants get when they arrive to the United States, conditions in detentions and what activists are doing to help. Thousands of people from countries such as Russia, Iraq, Turkey, Nigeria, Mexico, Guinea and many more come to the United States for a better life, but do they actually get it?

These immigrants are also called refugees. Refugees leave their home countries and come to the U.S. for freedom. They flee here for reasons like wars, death threats, freedom deprivation and many other life ruining situations; however, they do not know what is about to happen to them when they get to the U.S. Once the refugees are here they are shackled as if they are criminals and sent to an Immigration Detention Center. These centers are the most rapidly expanding prison program in the U.S. There, refugees are treated as if they belong in a jail. The refugees face many hardships when placed in a detention. Families are often separated; there are poor medical conditions, little to no outdoor activities, unnecessary use of solitary confinement, and verbal and even physical abuse.

A group of approximately 30 people of the same sex are put into a room with approximately 30 beds, are told to take off their clothes and are told to put on a uniform and are kept there for 6-8 months. After that long period of time each refugee is allowed to see a judge to plead for U.S. citizenship.

If the refugee is granted citizenship he/she must wait an additional three months for working papers. During those three months, refugees are often homeless because of the fact that while they were in detention they used all the money they had to survive so now they are left with nothing to live on. People run from their countries to the U.S. expecting to be welcomed with open arms, but do we give them the greeting they deserve?