For example, depending on where the asylum-seeker is detained, he or she may reasonably fear abuse by guards, inadequate access to legal resources, and exposure to criminals. In addition, some of the detention conditions include overcrowding, poor air quality and lighting, noise pollution, and insufficient bathroom facilities. Interviewed detainees also have complained about the quality and quantity of food, and a failure to meet religious and dietary needs. In some detention facilities, detainees who have money are able to purchase extra food from the facilitys commissary, but at inflated prices. Furthermore, detainees are not allowed to receive outside packages.
Some detainees report problems with theft of their personal property.
They generally characterize medical care as poor. Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, documented these conditions at INS detention facilities throughout the United States through extensive on-site visits and interviews conducted in 1998 and 1999. The impact of these conditions on the psychological and physical health of asylum-seekers is particularly significant. Moreover, the court agreed that the alleged treatment suffered by the plaintiff asylum-seekers in this case violated the international human right to be free from cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. The impact of detention conditions on the psychological and physical health of asylum-seekers, discussed in the previous section, can also impact the asylum claim itself.