Baltimore, where LIRS is headquartered, once trailed only Ellis Island as the place where immigrants first set foot on American soil. How were those 19th-century immigrants treated if they ended up in detention? Better or worse than today?
That’s no small question. These days, our immigration authorities keep thousands of migrant men, women, and children in detention conditions that often fall below international standards. Many of these detained people are refugees and asylum seekers, and some of them are survivors of torture.
So how was it for immigrants in detention back then? You can read one account for yourself in a new piece of LIRS commentary, “Baltimore Beats DC When It Comes to Warm Welcomes,” on the Baltimore Post-Examiner.