When do ‘detention centers’ become ‘concentration camps’? Experts look to history.

As immigration enforcement grows, experts say the terms used to describe detention centers shape how the public understands their purpose and impact

Are U.S. immigration agents sending migrants and asylum seekers to “detention centers” or “internment camps”? Are they being held in “processing centers” or “concentration camps”?

It depends on who you talk to. Sometimes the U.S. government uses bureaucratic and benign terms like “detention centers,” which immigrant advocates argue minimize often harsh conditions. At other times, they use sensational nicknames like the “Speedway Slammer” that suggest their purpose is for punishment.

Journalist Andrea Pitzer said in a recent interview with The Marshall Project that each tone serves a purpose for a different audience. One is used to stoke fear among immigrants, while another approach is intended to have a calming effect, to gain the public’s acceptance of the administration’s enforcement practices, she said.