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Abstract
The menstrual injustices experienced by noncitizens detained in immigration facilities - a particularly vulnerable subset of menstruators in carceral spaces - are largely ignored. Menstruating detainees are forced to rely on the immigration system to provide adequate access to menstrual products, and on detention facilities to engage in safe menstrual management and corresponding dignity. Unfortunately, the immigration system fails many detainees, and the defining characteristics of immigration detention- the lack of access to counsel and significant geographic and social isolation that people in custody face-exacerbate the problem. Despite these isolating factors, detainees are finding ways to share their struggles with menstrual injustices. This Essay aims to categorize, amplify, and contextualize these experiences, and the need for thoughtful reform.
INTRODUCTION
Menstrual justice combats systems that oppress people related to menstruation.1 Immigration detention is one such system depriving menstruators of privacy and dignity. For example, Customs and Border Patrol ("СВР") detained sixteen-year-old "Maria" for four hours in a room with 100 people. Guards told her to "do it on" herself when she asked for the restroom; they also threw away her extra clothing. СВР transported her to another facility, to a 10x14 foot room containing a sink and toilet "bathroom area" with only three five-foot-high walls. Children held up blankets for privacy. Toilet paper was replenished only once a day. Maria and another girl had their periods and were each provided one menstrual pad daily. Guards failed to provide soap, more than one shower, a change of clothes, or "extra" pads, even when a girl visibly bled through her pants. Without an alternative, stained clothes and soiled underwear were worn throughout detention.2
While stories like Marias are rarely heard, they are not rare. In the immigration detention system, girls, women, transgender boys and men, and nonbinary individuals rely exclusively on facility provision of adequate menstrual products and safe, dignified menstruation experiences. This Essay identifies and contextualizes detainees experiences with menstruation and the structures that keep them hidden. Part I explains why and where noncitizens may be detained. Part II identifies existing menstrual injustices. Part III outlines proposals for reform and calls on stakeholders to talk directly with detainees to improve law and policy to provide menstrual justice in immigration detention. Ultimately, rather than opine about...