What Exactly Is a ‘Concentration Camp’?

For the past month or so, I’ve been writing about the abysmal conditions in ICE detention centers. Last week, I argued that you could use the term “concentration camp” to describe the system the Trump administration is using to seize and detain immigrants, legal or otherwise.

Both to expand on that point and to bring in a broader perspective, I spoke to Andrea Pitzer, author of “One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps.” Pitzer also tackled this question of identification in a recent piece for her newsletter, “Degenerate Art.” As we spoke about her argument, we tried to place the White House’s relentless drive to expand immigration detention in a larger context.

Our conversation covers quite a bit of ground. If, in particular, you want to learn more about the United States’ 19th and 20th century imperial expansion, let me recommend two books, both by journalists. The first, by Spencer Ackerman, is “Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump.” And the second, by Jonathan Katz, is “Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America’s Empire.”

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

Hi, Andrea. First, could you introduce yourself?

My name is Andrea Pitzer, and I am a journalist as well as the author of a few books. I think probably the most important one in this moment is “One Long Night, A Global History of Concentration Camps.”

You recently wrote an essay for your newsletter called “What Counts as a ‘Concentration Camp’?,” in relation to the use of the term to describe the ICE detention facilities. What prompted you to write this particular piece?

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Jamelle Bouie became a New York Times Opinion columnist in 2019. Before that he was the chief political correspondent for Slate magazine. He is based in Charlottesville, Va.

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