Everyday thousands of humans and millions of nonhumans endure solitary confinement. Human prisoners held in this way are confined for 22 to 24 hours a day for weeks, months, or even years on end in cells the size of a parking space. For these humans, the experience is tortuous. Captive animals held in solitary confinement similarly spend much of their lives locked into tiny spaces, isolated, and deprived of the types of interactions and environment essential to their wellbeing. And, like humans, they are driven mad. In human and nonhuman settings, the agony of solitary is chillingly alike and harmful. And, in neither setting is it justifiable or necessary.
In their article, Powerless Beings: Solitary Confinement of Humans and Non Humans in America, published in Nebraska Law Review, Haub Law Professors Michael Mushlin and David Cassuto use a comparative format to examine the moral, penological and scientific shortcomings of solitary confinement across species. The article sheds light on the importance of empowering all creatures subjected to solitary confinement. “If we adequately protect all vulnerable beings, the unnecessary suffering inflicted by solitary confinement will finally end,” they write.
On April 28, 2025, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University hosted a landmark symposium entitled “Obligations for Perpetual Peace and Friendship: The Treaties of the Lenape Nation.” The event marked the first time that the treaties between the Lenape and the United States were collected and studied. The Law School is situated in what was the Lenape community of Quaroppas, today White Plains, part of their ancestral homeland, Lenapehoking.
Professor Amelia Wilson, Director of the Immigration Justice Clinic at Haub Law, discusses the legal framework surrounding ICE enforcement in Newsweek. She notes that when ICE has evidence someone is in the U.S. without authorization, it can serve as the basis for both detention and deportation proceedings under current federal law.
Professor Amelia Wilson of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University provides legal clarity in Newsweek on a proposed White House policy regarding green card revocations. She explains that under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Homeland Security does not have the authority to unilaterally revoke a permanent resident’s legal status.