Thread: Illegal Immigrants mistreated at Tacoma jail, report alleges

Illegal Immigrants mistreated at Tacoma jail, report alleges
By MANUEL VALDES
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SEATTLE -- From excessive strip searches and overcrowding to a lack of due process, an immigrant advocacy group alleges detainees are being mistreated at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, which houses illegal aliens in the process of deportation.

In a study released by Seattle-based OneAmerica and the International Human Rights Clinic at Seattle University's law school, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's operation at the Tacoma detention center is harshly criticized. The report contains anecdotes in which detainees describe what they call degrading treatment by guards and subpar conditions at the jail.

An ICE spokeswoman in Seattle dismissed the report as "a work of fiction."

Detentions nationally increased from 95,000 in 2001 to more than 300,000 last year, according to OneAmerica. Immigration spokeswoman Lorie Dankers in Seattle said she could not confirm those figures.

"Probably the most striking, stark fact is that there's no accountability around conditions and standards, which is only made even more stark when you think of detention as being the fastest-growing form of incarceration in the United States," Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, said Monday.

Immigration officials denied the report's contentions, saying the detention facility complies with industry standards. The Geo Group, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based private contractor that runs the facility, declined comment Monday.

"The report authored by Seattle University and OneAmerica is considered a work of fiction by ICE," Dankers said. "The information contained in the report has numerous inaccuracies and vague references that could not be corroborated or independently verified."

Most of the accounts come from 46 interviews conducted by Seattle U. students between 2007 and 2008. Detainees were interviewed, as were family members and immigration lawyers. In some cases, researchers did not disclose names or dates in the accounts.

The researchers also had sessions with ICE officials and tours of the facility.

One account in the 42-page report alleges that U.S. marshals denied some detainees access to restrooms for seven hours during flights from Seattle in 2007, leading some of the immigrants to defecate in their seats.

Melissa Middlesworth, a federal Justice Department spokeswoman based in Washington, D.C., said she could immediately comment on that allegation without closer examination of the report.

Another woman cited in the report said she was strip searched several times after visits with her lawyer.

Dankers said thorough strip searches are uncommon and only done when officers think there's probable cause to conclude that inappropriate contact took place between a detainee and a visitor.

In another section, the report alleged that a man under treatment for a cancerous brain tumor was deported, even though doctors had warned that his condition would worsen.

Dankers said ICE deported a man with cancer in January 2008, and had followed doctors' recommendations. Also, ICE policy calls for deportees with health issues to be given a week's worth of medication after deportation, she said.

The report also alleged that many immigrants were pressured to sign documents they did not fully understand and faced verbal abuse from guards if they delayed. Also, a lack of meeting rooms for detainees and lawyers led to hurried meetings lacking privacy.

The detention center opened in 2004 and has been expanded twice. Earlier this month, city of Tacoma officials confirmed that the Geo Group plans to expand the facility by 50 percent, to a capacity of 1,500 detainees. Dankers said the center typically runs near capacity, which is about 1,000 detainees. It houses detainees mainly from Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

The daily cost to house a detainee is $95, Dankers said.

One detainee has died while in custody. Dankers said the Pierce County medical examiner's office reported he died of heart disease.

"We really want to call attention and educate the general public to what's happening in our own backyard," Jayapal said.

OneAmerica included recommendations in its report for better treatment, including better attorney access, improved officer training, increased privacy and improved medical care.

The report came a few days after ICE announced an increase of nearly 40 percent in deportations out of Washington, Oregon and Alaska over the first nine months of the fiscal year. More than 7,300 people have been deported from the region in that period, immigration officials said.



http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/642 ... abuse.html

Also, a lack of meeting rooms for detainees and lawyers led to hurried meetings lacking privacy.

There is little creditability to reports not citing names. It's he said, she said............

One reason for lack of privacy is the need of a translator. Do translators come under 'attorney-client' confidentiality or can translators be used to testify against the client?
I am sure not many lawyers would like to be left alone and unprotected while meeting with 'certain' clients.

Crying Wolf is job security for Seattle-based OneAmerica and the International Human Rights Clinic.

If there weren't no witches to hunt, they would be out of work.

Dixie

So true Dix, it is Seattle-ites we're talking about. They are as bad as those in SF and even here in Portland.

As well, the one that stood out to me was that the "inmates" said they were not allowed to go to the bathrooms and thus defecate on themselves. I really do find that hard to believe. Unless someone has a major health issue, they can "hold it" for some time.

I'm almost sorry to repeat this "post" so often but it is evident that the PRO ILLEGALS are increasing the use of their VICTIM CARD!

[i]Yet another PRO ILLEGALS article playing their "victim card", this must be the new S.O.P. for the PRO ILLEGALS since I have read several "victim articles" in the last few days, because facts do not sustain their rationale for the invasion of the United States by the ILLEGALS! Just follow the money “my friends(sorry)â€

lccat, it is so true and why I posted this when I saw the article in Sundays paper. They say all of these things happen and/or poor treatment, and then make an issue with the media about it, yet they have little to no evidence it happened.

Say as with the defecating issue, come on, really, I have to believe they are full of.......never mind you all get the picture.

The report contains anecdotes in which detainees describe what they call degrading treatment by guards and subpar conditions at the jail

Translation: No beer and no conjugal visits.

I keep thinking the reason these groups keep trying to bring up this kind of bull is that instead of attempting to argue the illegallity of the people they say they represent, as we all know they have NO true argument that will win, they try to play the "lame" card.

Ever seen some of these nature shows, where the mother bird attempts to protect her chicks by being away form the nest and acting like she is lame so the predator will try to get her instead of her young. It is a distraction technique, and the OBL is attempting to do the same thing now that their marches and demands and name calling has not worked.