RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Immigrants sued the U.S. government Wednesday over conditions at a federal prison in California used to house detainees since the Trump administration sought to toughen enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Riverside says harsh prison conditions at a medium-security facility in Victorville, California, are too restrictive for detainees awaiting their immigration court hearings, many who are seeking asylum. It also alleges they have been deprived of religious rights by being denied access to a Bible and use of a Sikh turban.
“As a result of the unconstitutional treatment of these civil detainees, many have expressed a desire to be returned, immediately, to their countries of origin — foregoing their claims for immigration relief altogether — because they would rather face the dangers back home than be imprisoned in these abysmal conditions,” according to the lawsuit, which alleges inadequate medical care and food and seeks to have detainees removed from the prison.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment on pending litigation. The agency says about 700 detainees are currently at the facility.
Immigration authorities began sending detainees to prisons in Oregon, Washington and elsewhere in June to deal with overcrowding at immigration facilities. The Federal Bureau of Prisons set aside up to 1,600 beds to house immigration detainees as the Trump administration sought to stem illegal border crossing and take a stricter approach to asylum cases.
Since then, immigrant advocates have filed a separate lawsuit to gain access to detainees held in Victorville, who they said were deprived access to lawyers and phone calls and placed on lockdown for days at a time.
In Wednesday’s lawsuit, plaintiffs said the prison didn’t issue detainees a change of clothing for the first two to three weeks. They only have a few hours of outdoor exercise time each week and no educational or other programming, the lawsuit said.
In Oregon, similar litigation has been filed over conditions at a federal prison in rural Sheridan. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union are involved in both cases.
FILE – This June 30, 2015 file photo shows a sign at the entrance to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. A report that a child died shortly after being released from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas has inflamed the debate over the detention of immigrant families. The American Immigration Lawyers Association said Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, that it had learned of the death of a child shortly after the child and parent left the ICE family detention center at Dilley. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PHILADELPHIA – The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley announced that the Evzones, the Presidential Guard of Greece will be participating in the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 20.
NEW YORK — A 20-year-old woman was fatally shot Wednesday night while she pushed her infant daughter in a stroller on the Upper East Side, police said.
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