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INS DECISION TO RESTART RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION AT DETENTION CENTER SPARKS CONTROVERSY
About three months ago the INS stopped the religious classes that were conducted at the Elizabeth (NJ) Detention Center, claiming that the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the organization responsible for conducting the classes, had broken an INS rule preventing them from discussing detention issues with the detainees.  Responding to public outcry, the INS has allowed religious instruction classes to resume, but this time they will be led by an Episcopal group, leading some observers to wonder whether the INS is punishing the Catholic group. 
Some JRS volunteers say they are being excluded because of their activism in working to end the practice of detaining asylum seekers who arrive in US without documentation.  According to Will Coley, who designed the JRS program over two years ago, INS officials told him that JRS volunteers were “offering unreasonable hope to detainees.”  
Other advocates say that while it is positive that the INS recognizes the need for religious instruction for detainees, the situation looks like the INS is manipulating both religion and the Episcopal group.  Others wonder whether the Episcopal group will be able to really replace JRS.  The Episcopal group offers instruction only in English, while the JRS provided instruction in many languages.  The INS takes the position that the Episcopal group will provide more effective religious instruction because all will be trained chaplains, whereas the JRS used many lay volunteers.