International human rights law and the detention of asylum seekers

In this paper we provide an overview of the U.S. practice of detain-ing asylum seekers and compare the U.S. practice to the international human rights obligations applicable to the United States. This comparison is made in the context of the international movement toward cooperation on matters of migration and refugees evidenced by the Global Compacts on Migration and on Refugees recently adopted under the United Nations auspices. We conclude that the U.S. practice of detaining asylum seekers is inconsistent both with this general movement toward cooperation and with legal obligations that are applicable in respect of internationally protected human rights.