Following a Class-Action Lawsuit that includes Allegations of Forced Drugging, a Federal Judge has Ordered the Trump Administration to Transfer most Migrant Children out of a Texas Facility that Collects Millions of Dollars Annually from a Lucrative Contract with the U.S. Government.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee found Conditions at the Nonprofit Shiloh Treatment Center, in Manvel near Houston, in Violation of a 1997 settlement, called Flores vs. Reno, requiring Immigration Officials to Place Detained Minors in the Least Restrictive Setting appropriate to, each Class Member's Age and Special Needs.
But apparently, Shiloh considered Forced Injections of Psychotropic Drugs “the least restrictive setting,” with other Kids alleging that they were even Denied Drinking Water. “Julio Z. attests that a staff member at Shiloh RTC often refused to allow Julio and other class members to leave their living quarters to obtain drinking water,” Gee stated. When he tried to get some, “the staff member responded by throwing Julio to the ground, injuring Julio’s elbow.”
Under Gee’s Order, Children will be taken out of Shiloh "unless a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist determines that a particular child ‘poses a risk of harm to self or others,’”. Gee also Ordered that Staff must get Consent from Parents “before giving psychotropic drugs to any detained migrant child. Without consent, the facility may administer such a drug only in an emergency or under a court order,” she said.
Once again, in the face of Republican Complicity, it’s been Judges and Courts who have been looking out for the Welfare of our most Vulnerable. Just days ago, Gee also Ordered the Appointment of an Independent Monitor to Evaluate Conditions in Texas Border Facilities temporarily holding Migrant Children, essentially saying that if the Administration and Children’s Advocates can’t agree on one, she’ll Decide for them.
"A federal court has now confirmed what we already knew,” said Jess Morales Rocketto of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “Children are suffering abusive treatment and cruel and inhumane conditions in government detention centers. Children belong with their families, not scared, alone, and subject to abuse in prison-like conditions. Appointing an independent monitor and removing children from the cruelest of these facilities is a good first step, but it is not nearly enough."
Denial of Drinking Water, Forced Drugging, and widespread Child Abuse, should be the biggest News Story in America right. Keep Talking about these Children. Don’t Forget Them. They Need their Freedom Now.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
