Presenter: Lauren Monkewicz – Sociology
Faculty Mentor(s): Matthew Norton
Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation
This study examines healthcare violations in ICE detention centers through the critical sociological lens of statemaking. It aims to answer: do the violations that occur within these centers have an effect on the United States’ state making process? Are there any intersects between the way ICE treats detainees and the actions of a totalitarian government? To assess the nature of the state through this lens, this paper examines government reports, third party investigations, and various accounts of life as a detainee, relying on previous scholarship on typologies of the state to guide its definitions. Ultimately, this research suggests that there are totalitarian implications behind the egregious healthcare transgressions that occur in ICE detention centers. The nature of the abuse towards detainees has inherent connections to fundamental totalitarian traits, demonstrating that these actions leave a stain on the United States’ democracy.
Keywords: Totalitarianism, democratic regime, detention centers, state, healthcare