The Intersection of Race, Immigration Status, and Environmental Justice
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
It should be mentioned that environmental racism directed at immigrants in prison is of particular importance during the crucial and critical points of social development, as these points disorganize social and economic, moral and ethical bases of public life in any country.
The authors have carried out a deep and thorough theoretical analysis of the researchers’ works which are devoted to a range of issues on ecological injustice in prisons. The key facts, testifying the position of immigrants in a prison system, are well elucidated in the article. In our opinion, the authors of the article “The Intersection of Race, Immigration Status, and Environmental Justice” are absolutely right that so far, nobody has actually analyzed a role of prison system in the context of environmental problems.
The authors of the article reasonably consider penal system of the USA as the place of fight for ecological justice and put some emphasis on the heavy and destructive conditions under which thousands of immigrants are waiting for the court and potential deportation. This problem is likely to be relevant for the states of the European Union which faced the most powerful migration flow in the last decade. Undoubtedly, this research can stimulate scientific interest in problems of the migrants who are in prisons of Russia, as once prisoners immigrants appear to be in isolation, they turn out to be very vulnerable and in desperate need of participation and support.
The obvious advantage of the article is its complete structure which reflects the logic of the research. The conclusions and generalizations made by the authors are valid and properly proved. The text of the article is characterized by strict consistency and coherence of the data.
The work “The Intersection of Race, Immigration Status, and Environmental Justice” which is considered as interesting, substantial and deep.
Author Response
Thank you for your comments and insights. We agree that the application of this work to other immigrant prison systems in Europe and elsewhere would be an important and timely continuation to the work we have done here. In fact, we hope to undertake such a study at a future date.
Reviewer 2 Report
I liked the idea/the foundational concept of the manuscript a lot. I think focus on the injustices immigrant detainees are exposed to is sorely needed, and I believe the manuscript author(s) make a valiant effort at doing so. The inclusion of the case studies adds much to the strength of the manuscript and its claims. And I admire the author(s) efforts to say something meaningful about a rapidly and fluid area of policy as the Trump administration lurches through an almost non-understandable, chaotic manner of policy development and implementation. I think the link between immigration status and environmental justice is quite convincing in the manuscript. The link between race/racism was not quite so convincing but could be made so, I believe, with the inclusion of some recent demographic data.
I recommend that the manuscript be positively considered for publication but only after some revisions. First, I think the focus of the manuscript can be sharpened by a more definitive use of terms and inclusion of some definitions of terms. For example, in a somewhat confusing manner the manuscript contains mention of detention centers, immigration detention centers, detention facilities, prisons, immigration prisons, domestic and immigrant prisons, juvenile detention centers, ICE contracted facilities, and the reader is left to figure out what all of these very different designations mean. In a similar way, persons are sometimes referred to as detainees, sometimes as prisoners, and sometimes as inmates. Also, sometimes persons are described as immigrants, undocumented persons, sometimes as political asylum seekers and, again, the reader is assumed to understand what these quite different identifiers mean.
And while I understood why “prisons” are mentioned and how they represent environmental injustice practices, I wondered if the manuscript would be stronger with just a clear straight-up focus on immigrant detention centers. Or, at a minimum, a bit more explanation as to why both types of incarceration sites are included in the manuscript and how they are similar, but also how they differ.
I liked the two sections of the manuscript, Harmful Medical Care and Unhealthy and Abusive Food Services, but felt the reader could benefit from a). being told right away in both sections that these entities represent environmental injustices and b). that a foundation be laid earlier in the manuscript for consideration of these two entities. I see the inclusion of such a claim from line 360 to 367, and it is clear and strong, but as a reader I kept asking myself while reading the two sections—are these representation of environmental injustices?
And the review of the manuscript asks the reviewer to state if the research methods used in the manuscript are adequately described and are they appropriate. I would argue that research methods are never identified and so that is tough to comment on. I figured that the manuscript was based on some sort of extensive, thorough literature review and then the use of the case studies. It would prove helpful if there was some mention of how the literature review was conducted and how the case studies were selected and developed.
Again, I applaud the author(s) for the manuscript and its focus on a highly meaningful topic/idea. Good luck.
Author Response
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis and suggestions, our edits to address your concerns are as follows:
o This reviewer wrote, “I think the link between immigration status and environmental justice is quite convincing in the manuscript. The link between race/racism was not quite so convincing but could be made so, I believe, with the inclusion of some recent demographic data.” This is a critical point. We provide this specific demographic data on immigrant prisons from a recent research report on all 630 facilities in the U.S. that demonstrates that 89% of the detainees are Latin American origin (see lines 494-499). These data substantiate the claim that environmental injustices against these populations are also an example of environmental racism because these are people of color populations.
o For a clearer presentation of our use of terminology for the various carceral facilities considered in the paper, all instances of immigrant detention facilities have been changed to “immigrant prisons”, with a footnote explaining that choice at the start of the immigrant section (see lines 250-251).
o To continue on clarifying terms, we define the difference between “inmates” and “detainees” and have edited the entire paper to ensure that these terms are used properly when referring to the appropriate group they represent in the context of this article (see lines 211-215 and more).
o This reviewer wrote: “And while I understood why “prisons” are mentioned and how they represent environmental injustice practices, I wondered if the manuscript would be stronger with just a clear straight-up focus on immigrant detention centers. Or, at a minimum, a bit more explanation as to why both types of incarceration sites are included in the manuscript and how they are similar, but also how they differ.” In response to this query and suggestion, we inserted the following explanation: “We include a consideration of the broader prison system in this paper to provide the larger institutional context necessary for understanding the particular challenges associated with immigrant prisons and environmental justice struggles. The primary difference between a traditional jail or prison and immigrant prisons is that the latter are specifically designed to hold persons who are not U.S. citizens and who are alleged to have violated immigration law (which is a civil, not criminal, offense). While inside these facilities, the detainees are generally awaiting trial and/or deportation.” (see lines 194-200)
o For the sections titled Harmful Medical Care and Unhealthy and Abusive Food Services, we have added material that clarifies and explains how these practices constitute environmental justice issues (see lines 325-330 and 414-426).
o This reviewer sought a more explicit elaboration on our research methods. We have added a section that explains our methods and the choice of sources (see lines 202-209).
Reviewer 3 Report
I'd like to see the following idea clarified:
Research on African immigrants and African American enslavement reveals these 98
dynamics and concludes that slavery was a system of control over both nature and humans that 99
was particularly brutal and harsh, but that also required some level of autonomy on the part of 100
enslaved persons whose labor was the foundation of the Southern U.S. economy for centuries 101
(Glave and Stoll 2006; Smith 2007; Taylor 1997).
No dispute with this claim but would like how the autonomy required within this system of control over human and non-human fit into the overall argument of the paper. IT is less specific than the examples of European and Latin American immigrants that follow it (in the same paragraph).
This is an interesting example. Could be clarified. Did the protest include a demand for better conditions as well as trying to interrupt the buses and vans? Do you know the outcome of the protest?
In April of 2015, the Northwest Detention Center Resistance 475
Coalition (a Seattle-based activist group) set up a human blockade outside the facility to prevent 476
buses and vans from transporting inmates to Sea-Tac airport for deportation. The NDCRC activists 477
explicitly stated that they were acting in solidarity to support the immigrant prisoners and to make 478
Sustainability 2019, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 11 of 17
11
a public statement that linked the oppressive conditions at the facility to the problem of climate 479
change-driven migration. As one participating activist, Ahmed Gaya, declared, “On a broader scale, 480
we think the struggles of migrant and climate justice are one and the same...Many people are 481
migrating and are forced to leave their homes because of climate change” (Bogado 2015).
Author Response
Thank you for your questions, our edits based on your review were as follows:
o This reviewer wrote, “I’d like to see the following clarified: Research on African immigrants and African American enslavement reveals these dynamics and concludes that slavery was a system of control over both nature and humans that was particularly brutal and harsh, but that also required some level of autonomy on the part of enslaved persons whose labor was the foundation of the Southern U.S. economy for centuries (Glave and Stoll 2006; Smith 2007; Taylor 1997).
“No dispute with this claim but would like how the autonomy required within this system of control over human and non-human fit into the overall argument of the paper. IT is less specific than the examples of European and Latin American immigrants that follow it (in the same paragraph).”
This section in our first draft of the paper was lacking in clarity and unnecessarily confusing, and we thank the reviewer for pointing this out. In response, we have replaced the second part of that sentence with what we believe is a strong, clearer point about resistance to slavery, so that it now reads: “Research on African immigrants and African American enslavement reveals these dynamics and concludes that slavery was a system of control over both nature and humans that was particularly brutal and harsh, but that even under such difficult conditions, enslaved persons routinely resisted their oppression” (see lines 106-109).
o With regard to the protests at the Northwest Detention Center, this reviewer wanted clarity as to what the outcome of these actions were and whether they sought to address conditions inside the facility. We have addressed these questions in that section (see lines 652-658).
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
I wish to thank the author(s) for their willingness to take up the recommended revisions. I am more than satisfied with the revisions as completed and feel the paper is now, as they say where I am from in the country, "good to go." I recommend publication, post the revisions, as is.
