Human rights in our backyard: utilizing a truth commission and principles of transitional justice to address atrocities committed against asylum seekers in the United States

• Author: Katie Wiese
• Position: J.D. Candidate and Blume Public Interest Scholar, Georgetown University Law Center, 2022; Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, Diplomacy and World Affairs, Occidental College, 2015
• Pages: 461-489

HUMAN RIGHTS IN OUR BACKYARD: UTILIZING

A TRUTH COMMISSION AND PRINCIPLES OF

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE TO ADDRESS

ATROCITIES COMMITTED AGAINST ASYLUM

SEEKERS IN THE UNITED STATES

KATIE WIESE*

ABSTRACT

For the past several decades, asylum seekers at the U.S. border and in deten-

tion facilities throughout the country have endured pervasive human rights vio-

lations, including family separation, removal to Mexico, inhumane detention

conditions, neglectful medical care, sexual violence and physical abuse, forced

deportation in violation of non-refoulement principles, reproductive injustice,

and numerous other egregious abuses. When President Biden assumed office in

January 2021, he committed to restoring human rights conditions and address-

ing many abuses perpetrated against asylum seekers. This Note examines why

the Biden administration should establish a truth commission to rigorously

investigate, document, and acknowledge the range of human rights abuses com-

mitted against immigrants seeking asylum in the United States, and will discuss

how a truth commission could serve a vital role in seeking truth, justice, repara-

tions, and institutional reforms. Drawing on both theory and practical examples

from international truth commissions, this Note argues that the Biden adminis-

tration should adopt a truth commission in order to investigate and establish the

full scope of these pervasive abuses; formally acknowledge immigrant survivors’

experiences and support survivor empowerment; recommend reparations for

survivors; and propose institutional reforms to prevent future abuses against

those seeking asylum.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ......................................... 462

* Katie Wiese, J.D. Candidate and Blume Public Interest Scholar, Georgetown University Law

Center, 2022; Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, Diplomacy and World Affairs, Occidental College,

2015. I would like to thank Professor Jane Stromseth for her invaluable feedback and guidance on this

Note, as well as the Center for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) clinic for shaping my lawyering skills and

passion for immigration advocacy. © 2021, Katie Wiese.

461

I. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST ASYLUM SEEKERS IN

THE UNITED STATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

A. Abuses at the Border and in Detention Centers ......... 465

B. The Biden Administration’s Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467

II. WHAT IS A TRUTH COMMISSION?......................... 469

A. Truth Commission Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

B. The History of Truth Commissions in the Transitional

Justice Field and the United States.................. 470

III. BENEFITS OF TRUTH COMMISSIONS: WHY THE UNITED STATES SHOULD

ADOPT A TRUTH COMMISSION TO ADDRESS ATROCITIES COMMITTED

AGAINST ASYLUM SEEKERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

A. Establishing the Facts, Causes, and Consequences of

Human Rights Violations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

B. Formally Acknowledging Survivors’ Experiences and

Supporting Survivor Empowerment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478

C. Recommending Reparations for Survivors............ 481

D. Recommending Institutional Reforms to Prevent Future

Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484

IV. CHALLENGES IN CREATING AN ASYLUM TRUTH COMMISSION . . . . . . . 485

A. Ensuring the Commission’s Legitimacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

B. Engaging with Affected Individuals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

INTRODUCTION

The last time Ever, an asylum seeker from Honduras, saw his three-year-

old son Sammy was when they were sleeping on the ground under a foil blan-

ket at an immigration detention center in Texas.

1

An Immigration and

Customs Enforcement (ICE) official told Ever that he needed to sign some

paperwork for his asylum case and could return to Sammy shortly, yet the fa-

ther and son were abruptly torn apart, and ICE sent three-year-old Sammy

1. Abril Valdes & Imelda Mejia, ‘My Son is Traumatized’: One Separated Family’s Reunion, ACLU

(Aug. 24, 2018, 5:30PM), https://perma.cc/PRJ3-YCQF.

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