An infected ICE facility in Arizona has outraged the community since recent claims stated that the facility is forcing asylum-seekers to clean the “highly” contagious facility in La Palma Correctional Center located in Phoenix.
What We Know:
- The Florence Immigrants & Refugees Rights Project has been the voice for the members and has filed a lawsuit against ICE.
- The letter, obtained exclusively by NBC, highlights the horrors the facility has faced during the global pandemic.
- The letter, written by men who have been in the detention center for almost 6 months, states that they are forced to clean with little to no protection, guards come in and out without protection, and that their daily meals consisted of two slices of rotten ham and two portions of bread.
- Along with the horrible conditions, the asylum-seekers are sometimes locked up for three days without being able to shower or communicate to their families and did not have access to toilet paper on the weekends.
- The outrage has spread to Twitter:
Soooooo, is @ICEgov just, like, done reporting on its coronavirus testing data in detention facilities?
No new data on the number of tests performed since June 5. https://t.co/VBMQ763aDH
— Tom Jawetz (@TomJawetz) June 13, 2020
Through all this we're still warehousing human beings in ICE facilities because they had the temerity to look towards the United States as a beacon of hope and opportunity. May a sweeping wave of justice crash down on these miserable detention centers. https://t.co/25gd85fSXm
— Pat Race (@alaskarobotics) June 12, 2020
- CoreCivic, a Corrections Corporation of America that manages private prisons such as La Palma, gave a short statement to NBC News saying the following:
“Claims of ‘forced’ work are false. Detainees are permitted to participate in voluntary work programs. Should they choose to participate in these programs, proper personal protective equipment (PPE) was and is provided for the task at hand.”
- CoreCivic also stated that there are “no current active cases of COVID-19” and zero deaths within the facility.
- Along with denying COVID-19 improper protocol, CoreCivic has also stated that there are no “complaints or notifications” that there were any issues with the freshness of the food and the detainees are provided with three meals a day.
- The Florence project advocacy attorney, Laura Belous said the following:
“People shouldn’t have to choose between their health and an immigration case.”
- Along with the lawsuit of mistreatment, the non-profit organization is also demanding for the detainees to finally get a court day on their case.
Amidst the protests for the Black Lives Matter movement, there have also been protests to abolish ICE and release the children as well as to have proper treatment within the center.
