Amin is one of at least 17 #Iranian students turned away at US airports despite valid visas. He planned to pursue a PhD at U of Florida. Instead, he was chained & taken to the Deyton Detention Center in #Georgia. We @projectsouth have been documenting conditions there. THREAD.
@ProjectSouth Amin was placed in a chilly holding cell at the #Atlanta airport for six hours, then transported to Deyton. Where the officers ordered him to strip naked in front of them. “The moment I entered the cell, I lost my spirit,” he said.
@ProjectSouth After we successfully convinced #Atlanta to stop colluding w/ICE for detaining immigrants at the city jail, ICE turned elsewhere to fuel the detention machine. They secretly entered into an arrangement w/private prison corporation GEO group for detention of immigrants at Deyton.
@ProjectSouth The GEO Group’s detention centers have a well-documented track record of #humanrights violations, including lack of medical and mental health care, arbitrary solitary confinement, denial of basic hygiene products, and moldy and inedible food.
@ProjectSouth Due to these horrid conditions, death, suicide, and attempted suicide are all too common in GEO-run facilities.
@ProjectSouth The Deyton Detention Center is no different, according to the detained immigrants we have spoken to. They tell us that the food is inedible, they are yelled at and cursed at by the officers, and they are put on lock-down for many hours straight.
@ProjectSouth There is inadequate medical, dental, and mental health care. One detained immigrant told us that they have to wait a minimum of a week before being able to go to the medical unit and that there is no daily sick-call procedure.
@ProjectSouth Many Muslim immigrants detained at the facility face challenges practicing their faith. For example, they are denied access to halal food and are not allowed to pray together on Fridays as encouraged by their faith.
@ProjectSouth Grievances that detained immigrants file are ignored by the officers. One man told us that he could see the grievance box was filled to the top with complaints, but that no one has picked them up since he arrived at the detention center more than two weeks ago.
@ProjectSouth Detained immigrants are further isolated at Deyton due to its restrictive visitation policy. Immigrants have to mail a form to their potential visitor, wait to receive the form back, and then get it approved by an officer. This process could take up to two or three weeks.
@ProjectSouth By the time the visitor is approved, the person detained may already be deported.
@ProjectSouth @Rewire_News In light of this, we are asking the Clayton County Commissioners to stop letting the GEO Group use the facility given the prison corporation’s horrific track record and its abominable treatment towards immigrants detained at the facility.
@ProjectSouth @Rewire_News And we're asking Congress to cut funding for ICE, an agency that thrives off of a culture of secrecy and abuse. The evidence is indisputable; ICE must be abolished. #AbolishICE
@ProjectSouth @Rewire_News CBP must also be held to account for its atrocious treatment of #Iranian students, Iranian-Americans, and scores of other vulnerable communities. More here nytimes.com/2020/01/25/us/…
@ProjectSouth @Rewire_News This agency has a history of atrocities, including killing the 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez who was quarantined & left in a cold cell instead of being given care for the flu. #DismantleRacism
