Immigration attorneys and advocates are accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials of retaliating against detainees taking part in hunger strikes over inhumane conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
The Immigrant Defenders Law Center officials said a Belizean man they represent, who has helped organize some of the hunger strikes and spoke to three members of Congress about the conditions at the detention center, was moved to out-of-state facilities and scheduled to be deported, a violation of a court directive.
The law group said other participants alleged that they’ve been zip-tied, threatened with tear gas and were put in solitary confinement or transferred to other ICE facilities.
They said the transfer of the Belizean man — Kyron Shakeel Swaso — to other facilities is a violation of the California Central District Court’s general order on immigration habeas corpus petitions, which requires ICE to give a two-day notice to the petitioner or their lawyers that they are going to be transferred out of the district.
In an email response to the Times, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Swaso, who they say has a criminal history, was issued a final order of removal and was transferred to another facility as part of his removal proceedings.
The spokesperson denied there was a hunger strike and said that no one was being abused at the facility, which has been the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit. At least four people have died at the facility.
“The sudden transfer of Mr. Swaso, followed by ICE’s breakneck attempt to deport him and their denial of a hunger strike at Adelanto, raises glaring red flags,” Melissa Shepard, legal services director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said in a statement. “Mr. Swaso has an unequivocal First Amendment right to speak publicly about the conditions of his detention without fear of retaliation. This appears to be yet another deliberate strategy to suppress dissent, force self-deportation, erase suffering, and strip people of their rights before anyone notices.”
Shepard called his transfer “a blatant act of retaliation.”
The hunger and economic strike began May 19, including at the Desert View Annex, a wing of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where detainees alleged subpar conditions and inadequate medical care. Detainees also say food rations were reduced, forcing them to buy costly items at the commissary. They said they would stop purchasing items.
A few days later, hundreds of detainees went on a hunger and labor strike at the Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey over moldy food, lack of medical care and allegations that they were forced to perform facility work for little to no pay.
Both facilities are owned and operated by the Geo Group Inc., one of the largest private prison and immigration detention contractors in the country. The company has long faced criticism and scrutiny over its treatment of immigrant detainees and conditions at its facilities.
A spokesperson for Geo Group could not immediately be reached for comment, but they previously told the Times that its services are monitored by ICE and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure compliance with federal government detention standards.
“The support services GEO provides include around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation, general and legal library access, translation services, dietitian-approved meals, religious and specialty diets, recreational amenities, and opportunities to practice their religious beliefs,” the spokesperson wrote.
Nearly two weeks after the hunger strike began at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, three members of Congress — U.S Rep Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) — visited the detention centers.
In a phone interview, Gomez said he and others met with three detainees on June 1, at least one of them was still on a hunger strike. He said they were handed a petition listing a series of complaints signed by more than 100 detainees. Gomez said those who signed the petition had been on a hunger strike from May 22 to 28.
Gomez said the three detainees complained about the quality of the food and water. They said those who were on hunger strikes were threatened with solitary confinement. Some were denied visitations and phone calls.
“The administrators are saying there’s no hunger strike because the way they see it is if the food is delivered, then they don’t consider that a hunger strike,” he said.
He said some detainees either throw the food away or give it to others. He said further investigation of the facilities is needed, and that he plans to return.
“I do believe that some of them were on hunger strikes,” Gomez said. “At the same time, a lot of them could be putting their own lives at risk if they stay on a hunger strike too long.”
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