Nina Rabin, who's also director of border research at the UA's Southwest Institute for Research on Women, co-authored the report, "Unseen Prisoners: A Report on Women in Immigration Detention Facilities in Arizona." She and a team of researchers, including law students, spent a year interviewing more than 40 detainees and their families, attorneys and service providers in an effort to learn about the condition of the detention centers and to also learn more about the prisoners, particularly where they are from and why they're being held.

A press briefing and discussion about the report, was held om Jan. 13, featuring an overview of the project, its findings and recommendations. Event speakers included Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, and Rigel Massaro, a third-year UA law student and research team member.

The report is now available at www.law.arizona.edu/depts/clinics/ilc/UnseenPrisoners.pdf. Read more about the report and those involved here.

The New York Times reported on the study in a January 21, 2009, article, which can be read here. Additional press coverage can be read as indicated below:

• Tucson Citizen article, January 14, 2009;
• Tucson Weekly article, January 15, 2009;
• Tucson Citizen editorial, January 16, 2009;
• Response to Tucson Citizen editorial, January 21, 2009.

Posted:01/06/2009