America’s Disappeared: Secret Imprisonment, Detainees & the War on Terror

September 11th, 2001, sparked a firestorm of racial profiling, detentions and deportations by the United States government so grievous as to evoke the shameful internment of Japanese Americans of more than half a century past. Thousands have been imprisoned without either trial or any kind of judicial hearing: detained, often indefinitely, solely on the say-so of the executive. Yet knowledge of the particular circumstances and incidents of the detentions remains dim. This text brings together, for the first time, detainees’ own testimonies with a comprehensive framework for understanding the issues by leading constitutional scholars working for their release. Going beyond the prevailing accounts to a detailed exploration of detention - the forms currently in use, and the conditions of each - the authors authoritatively refute its alleged justifications, boldly exploring its human costs.