DHS Fights Transparency on Detention Centers, Citing 'Security'
A federal judge recently blocked a Department of Homeland Security policy that restricted how lawmakers could access immigration detention facilities. The DHS, seemingly camera-shy, had demanded 7-day advance notice for visits and tried to control which staff members could observe. You might be forgiven for thinking transparency is essential for, say, a democracy, especially when dealing with
facilities that have faced repeated allegations of human rights abuses, including inadequate medical care and unsanitary conditions, as documented by organizations like Human Rights Watch. This isn't about 'security'; it's about managing public perception. The same playbook is used to limit press access to war zones, where inconvenient truths about civilian casualties or questionable tactics can't
be allowed to interfere with the approved narrative. (Remember how embedded journalists were supposed to ensure 'transparency' in Iraq?) One might question why an agency tasked with 'homeland security' is so afraid of elected officials looking into its operations. Could it be they prefer their operations to remain as opaque as the funding mechanisms that allow some of our esteemed politicians to
ignore basic human rights when it suits certain political agendas?