The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must turn over to the Court Unredacted Versions of Documents related to its Civil Rights Division's Findings and Recommendations regarding Allegations of Abuse at an Alabama Immigration Detention Center, a Federal Judge in Manhattan has Ordered.
An Investigation of Immigrant Detention Centers in the South has found that Detainees are Routinely Denied their Due Process Rights and frequently Endure Inhumane Conditions in Isolated Facilities that have Little Oversight from the Federal Government.
The Report, Shadow Prisons: Immigrant Detention in the South, Details a Seven-Month Investigation by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), and the Adelante Alabama Worker Center.
The Study is based in part on Interviews by Legal and Human Rights Advocates with more than 300 Immigrants held in Six Detention Centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia. and Louisiana.
“This report shows that immigrant detention centers in the South fail to ensure the rights and safety of people in their custody,” said Eunice Cho, SPLC Staff Attorney and Author of the Report. “Flooding the immigration detention system with hundreds of thousands of additional people will only lead to a grave human rights crisis.”
In addition to Identifying Inadequate Medical Care and Widespread Abuses, the Study found that many Immigrants Languish in Detention Centers for Months or sometimes Years, typically Without Legal Counsel and in Violation of their Rights, as they await Hearings or Deportation.
Detained Immigrants described being subjected to Physical Abuse, Retaliation, and Excessive use of Segregation and Lockdown by Detention Center Staff and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officers. At the Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama, Detainees reported that ICE Officials had used Force on Detainees who Refused to Sign Travel Documents. Detainees also reported Conditions that can lead to Rapid Mental and Physical Deterioration, such as a Lack of Outdoor Recreation, which Lacks an Outdoor Recreation area, Detainees described going Virtually Months, even years, without spending time Outdoors.
Detention Centers Failed to provide Basic Sanitation and Nutrition. Detainees at All Facilities reported becoming Ill from Spoiled Food. Several Detainees reported receiving Expired Food, Food with Mold on it and, in some cases, Food with Worms and Insects.
Detained Immigrants in the South face Inadequate Medical and Mental Health Treatment, causing needless Death and Suffering. Detainees reported Five Deaths at these facilities resulting from Failure to receive Medical Treatment.
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