Crammed immigration detention centers raise concerns amid pandemic
By Lee Hyo-jin
A lack of capacity in immigration detention centers here has raised concerns over possible mass COVID-19 infections, according to migrants' rights group Friends of Asia (FOA), Friday.
Unregistered foreigners facing deportation are temporarily held in one of three detention centers ― Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province; Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; and Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
The immigration detention center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. / Yonhap
“Mass virus infections can occur anytime in the facility through new detainees or officials carrying the virus from outside,” FOA head Kim Dae-kwon told The Korea Times.
The number of detainees keeps increasing as they cannot return to their home countries due to limited air travel amid the pandemic, Kim said.
According to the Korea Immigration Service, as of Aug. 13, 760 foreigners were in the facilities. The number stood at 300 in March.
About 406 detainees have been staying at the Hwaseong center, up from 345 in June. As of Aug. 13, the number of detainees in Cheongju was 200, compared with 183 in June.
In May, the authorities announced a temporary suspension of crackdowns on undocumented foreigners in a bid to contain the virus, but the plan appears to have changed.
In July, a special investigative team at the Seoul Immigration office apprehended 166 unregistered foreigners working at delivery service agencies. Many were transferred to detention facilities.
Migrants' activists said the authorities should take measures to ensure the detainees' human rights and protect their health.
“The detainees are under huge stress as more than 10 adults are being held per 66 square-meter room,” Kim said. “The Ministry of Justice should come up with appropriate measures rather than cracking down on undocumented foreigners and transferring them to detainment centers.
“They need proper medical facilities. In the long term, fundamental measures such as enhanced labor laws should be established.”