Kimaya Khurana - Week #6 - Long-term Advantages or Long-term Psychological Pain?
Long-term Advantages or Long-term Psychological Pain?
“It was just like a kidnapping.”
“Eight hours there and back and they don’t give me food or water or anything.”
“Please help me.”
“I don’t even think they strap animals like [a WRAP].”
“Carrying me like a corpse.”
“I don't care, I'm doing my job.”
The first 5 quotes are all accounts of those who were tied down, strapped in a WRAP, to be deported. A WRAP was meant to be an alternative instead of typing a person's hands and feet together. It first appeared in the 1990s, and today is used in more than 1,800 facilities, and more than 10,000 have been sold. These aren’t just body bags, they're restraint devices which fully immobilize individuals. According to the manufacturer, it was meant to “safely manage erratic or violent individuals by preventing them from striking officers or harming themselves.” However, it has more been perceived as punishment or torture––which can create long-term psychological issues––and multiple lawsuits have been filed. Yet, ICE’s mindset is “I don't care, I'm doing my job.”
What job? A job to treat people inhumanely? To ignore their cries for help and ignoring those who can’t breathe from a device? A device which can kill people like Alberto Pena, a 2020 case–one that has little media attention?
ICE itself was a law-enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security which deals with border security, immigration, customs, and trade. Their official mission is to “protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety,” yet this is doing more harm than good.
According to the Washington Post, ICE has arrested more than twice the number arrested between January and June of 2025 from the period prior. Even civil detainees, those without criminal accusations, have risen over 250% in just May to June (2025) according to CBS News.
Even the numbers above aren't enough, Trump wants more. He views this as an essential for national security as well as public safety and has thus increased its funding significantly–according to him a long-term advantage–regardless of the pain it causes. His goal is to deport millions of illegal immigrants, which has even gone to detaining permanent residents, those with a green card. He rescinded a Biden-era policy which would protect places like schools, churches, and hospitals, otherwise known as “sensitive locations.”
This is different from the past. This doesn't just target criminals; it targets any individual who does not even pose a public safety threat.
So what's more important, long-term advantages or long-term psychological pain?
It has definitely been difficult to watch the way that many people and their families are deeply afraid of the actions of ICE. When you described the WRAP, the first thing that came to mind was straitjackets, which are also used for physical restraint, although they only cover the top half of the body. They are historically used to control violent patients in mental asylum and to stop them from hurting themself or others. They are not used as much today, and the WRAP can probably be considered its replacement for this current time period. It is shocking to learn that these devices can cause long-term psychological issues, but honestly, that must be inevitable. The individuals that ICE are detaining and deporting are often people with a family who just want to be together and only want peace. Those WRAPs are traumatizing for those individuals and it's honestly a good thing that multiple lawsuits have been filed. It continues to amaze me that ICE does not care about what they are doing to "do their job." Do they not see how people are reacting from the torture they are putting them through? As you mention, they are doing much more harm than good, which seems quite ironic after reading their official mission that you provided. This can also be connected to what was mentioned during our Socratic Seminar last week. Although American was marketed as this country that could help people succeed, the same country started to discriminate against people that looked different, which again, is quite ironic.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimaya! This is the first time I heard of the term “WRAP” and it really bothers me. The fact that WRAPs have been used in “1800 facilities” and “10,000 have been sold” demonstrates how ingrained hurting people is in America and how inhumane some people are about rights. The 2020 case about the person, “Alberto Pain” is very sad and it's increasingly frightening how important the media is for coverage, as I never heard about this incident in my whole life. Hearing about how “civil detainees[’]” cases have increased by “250%” worries me because these people have not committed a crime. The fact that innocent people are getting targeted means that the next person ICE targets us could be you or me. That precedent is a scary one for America to have because it undermines how America is the land of opportunity and a melting pot of different cultures. Thank you for covering this serious topic so that people who do not know (me) can become more aware of it!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kimaya. I really liked how you wrote more about the impacts that ICE has on the people they wrongfully detain, beyond just the actual process of being detained. Because they are usually so violent and dehumanizing, I would argue that the entire process of ICE arrests is some mild form of psychological torture. A lot of the arrests are public and unnecessarily extravagant, and usually are recorded and shared around on social media. So, not only are they being arrested, but they’re publicly humiliated in front of their friends and family. Even if everything somehow becomes “ok” and the person being arrested is released, they still have to deal with the social and mental implications of the humiliation ritual. The KKK, oops, I mean ICE, agents are able to hide behind their masks, while the people being arrested can’t. Which is a whole other issue I have. What’s up with the masks? Anyways, an observation I made is how similar the WRAP restraints look like straitjackets. Sure, they made some stylistic choices and opted for black instead of white this time, but they still look oddly similar to each other. Also, I just can’t wrap my head around why a WRAP is deemed just oh so necessary. Sure, you need to detain people, but why full body binding? This doesn’t even happen when people who have committed real crimes get arrested, so why spend the time, energy, and space for just ICE arrests?
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