#THREAD: In May we began to receive distressing calls to our Hotline about a toxic chemical disinfectant being used at #Adelanto. Callers described bloody noses, nausea, & skin burns.
Despite the civil rights complaint & public outcry from over 1.5 mil ppl who signed a petition demanding that ICE stop using HDQ, people are still in danger.
Meanwhile, we received reports of toxic chemical disinfectants being used at other ICE prisons. news.yahoo.com/immigrant-deta…
On June 23, 36 members of Congress called for DHS OIG to investigate use of toxic chemicals in all ICE jails and prisons.
Rep. @NydiaVelazquez & 26 lawmakers penned a letter calling for the ONLY solution to this public health crisis: for ICE to immediately stop use of toxic chemicals in its facilities, to free everyone from #Adelanto, to halt plans for expansion, and to take steps to #FreeThemAll
This letter comes at a critical time as ICE & GEO Group are using shady tactics to expand Adelanto to become the largest immigrant prison on the West Coast. desertsun.com/story/news/pol…
Every week the public is exposed to new reported horrors in ICE detention.
Toxic chemical exposure. Deliberate limitations on testing. Transfers causing massive #COVID19 outbreaks & death. Forced hysterectomies.
Any calls for oversight without calls for accountability and release are not enough.
📢Now is the time to end New York’s complicity with immigrant detention! 🧵 thread + 📝 statement from 75+ groups on why we need to pass the #DignityNotDetention Act:
COVID-19 exacerbated the dangers of ICE detention, which has *always* been inhumane. 2020 was the deadliest year in detention since ‘05, with 21 deaths - and over 10K COVID cases. #DignityNotDetention
People in ICE detention in New York state have reported lack of PPE & hygienic materials, and the use of solitary confinement as “quarantine” - total lack of basic public health. #DignityNotDetention
1. #DignityNotDetention prohibits NY State government from entering into immigration detention contracts & prohibits them from receiving any payments related to immigration detention.
2. #DignityNotDetention prohibits New York state from renewing any existing immigration detention contracts.
BREAKING: Freedom for Immigrants and 9 partner orgs submitted a civil rights complaint against the Glades County Detention Center in Florida. Link to the full CRCL in comments. freedomforimmigrants.org/news/shut-down…
With 25 testimonies, it details atrocities happening inside Glades, including: ICE’s failures to follow court orders to release individuals; retaliation for protests and public reporting; use of toxic chemical spray in enclosed spaces; hospitalizations, deaths, and disappearances
The complaint demands ICE terminate its contract with Glades County and immediately release all people detained at the facility.
Our National Detention Hotline received a disturbing call from a Black immigrant in an ICE prison who had experienced physical abuse at the hands of the guards.
Hotline volunteers acted quickly to file a civil rights complaint on his behalf.
In an interview, our Director of Visitation Advocacy Strategies, Sofia Casini, highlighted the connection between the abuse of Black immigrants in ICE prison with abuse at the hands of law enforcement.
Casini stated, "Our nation just went through a year of examining the ways people in authority harm Black people while claiming, 'I was at risk. This person was a threat' — people who are Black and unarmed and at their mercy."
The complaint was submitted on behalf of 3 Cameroonian asylum seekers at Winn Correctional Center who were physically assaulted, choked, beaten and handcuffed in attempts to force their signatures.
One of the men has tested positive for COVID and another has been exposed to COVID. All 3 face life-threatening consequences if deported to Cameroon. #FreeThemAll#BlackLivesMatter
This morning, we @ Freedom for Immigrants and @DetentionWatch Network delivered a letter to @POTUS on behalf of 217 groups demanding President Biden address COVID-19 inside immigration detention by releasing everyone within the first 100 days #FreeThemAll
Our organization has documented at least
199 instances of retaliation at 49 detention facilities since the onset of the pandemic, underscoring the systemic nature of this abuse. You can follow our up-to-date COVID-19 reporting at freedomforimmigrants.org/covid19
Throughout the pandemic, the average length of detention has increased–meaning that people are trapped in prolonged detention in these lethal conditions. As a result, FY 2020 was the deadliest year in ICE detention since 2005, with 21 reported deaths, eight due to
COVID.