1 Hour / 1 CE

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Immigration Detention is presented by Virginia Barber Rioja, PhD.

This badge-earning program can be shared digitally on platforms like LinkedIn or your resume and counts toward a certificate. Enroll in this program to earn credit towards the Correctional Mental Health Certificate and share your new digital credentials.

This program explores the conditions, policies, and procedures related to immigration detention, focusing on the legal and human rights aspects of detaining individuals awaiting immigration proceedings. It examines the psychological and physical impacts of detention on individuals, particularly vulnerable populations, and the ethical considerations of detention practices. The program also highlights alternatives to detention and strategies for improving the treatment and support of detainees within the immigration system.

This program is geared toward mental health and other allied professionals at all training levels who work in carceral settings or with clients involved in the criminal justice system. 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe the policies, procedures, and legal frameworks related to immigration detention, with a focus on the human rights implications for detained individuals
  • 2 Describe the psychological and physical effects of immigration detention on individuals, particularly vulnerable populations, and explore the ethical considerations surrounding detention practices
  • 3 Describe alternatives to detention and identify strategies to enhance the treatment, care, and support of detainees within the immigration system, focusing on ethical and humane practices

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for mental health and allied professionals who work with individuals in detention settings or those involved in the immigration or criminal justice systems. It is particularly relevant for those in psychology, counseling, social work, and related fields who address the mental health, legal, and human rights needs of detained or vulnerable populations, including individuals impacted by immigration or criminal justice processes.

    Examples of Relevant Professionals:


    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Psychologists
    • Social Workers
    • Counselors
    • Case Managers
    • Advocates addressing legal and human rights issues
    • Allied health professionals supporting justice-involved or immigrant populations

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health and allied professionals at all experience levels who work in carceral settings or with clients involved in the criminal justice system.


    • Beginner: Participants new to immigration detention issues or carceral settings will gain foundational knowledge of relevant policies, procedures, and the psychological and physical impacts of detention.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in carceral or immigration-related work will deepen their understanding of human rights implications, ethical considerations, and strategies for supporting detained individuals.

    • Advanced: Participants with extensive experience in immigration detention or carceral mental health will refine their expertise in complex ethical dilemmas, policy advocacy, and implementing best practices for humane treatment and systemic change.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals practice in secure, policy-driven environments and court-connected community settings serving detained, recently released, or justice-involved immigrants and other vulnerable populations. Work occurs within multidisciplinary, legally informed, trauma-responsive systems with strict procedures, limited privacy, and complex ethical and human rights considerations. Services may be delivered on-site, via telehealth into custody, or within community transition programs coordinating care and advocacy.

    Examples of Practice Settings:


    • Immigration detention centers (ICE/contract facilities)
    • Jails, prisons, and forensic mental health units
    • Juvenile detention and youth justice facilities
    • CBP short-term holding sites
    • Court-mandated treatment and problem-solving courts
    • Reentry, diversion, and community supervision programs
    • Community clinics serving asylum seekers and justice-involved clients
    • Hospital emergency/psychiatric units linked to custody
    • Legal aid/NGO clinics with integrated behavioral health
    • Shelters and transitional housing for migrants or recently released individuals
Presented By

Virginia Barber-Rioja, PhD

Virginia Barber Rioja obtained her Ph.D. in clinical forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. For 7 years, she worked in the NYC jail system holding the positions of Co-Chief and Clinical Director of Mental Health, and Assistant Chief of Forensic Services for Correctional Health Services/NYC Health + Hospitals, which provides mental health treatment to the NYC jails and forensic assessment services to the NYC courts. She is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Psychology Department of New York University and the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology of Teachers College, Columbia University. She has over 15 years of experience working in correctional and forensic contexts, including jails, forensic hospitals and alternative to incarceration and reentry programs. She also worked as a consultant for the juvenile correctional facilities in Puerto Rico. Currently, Dr. Barber Rioja consults for the Center for Justice Innovation as a Senior Clinical Policy Advisor and maintains an independent forensic practice involving consulting, training and forensic assessment in immigration, state, and federal court cases. She is an elected Member-At-Large of the American Psychology Law Society (APLS), a board member of the Asociación Iberoamericana de Justicia Terapéutica (Iberoamerican Association of Therapeutic Jurisprudence) and a former elected member of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Legal Issues (COLI).



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CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).

Sponsorship Approval Statements

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.