Do You Know What's Happening at the Immigrant Jails?

Filed in archive Latin Blogs , Latin News on May 19, 2007

Latina Lista is talking about ICE abuses, and I would like to share her call with you:

Jorge Bustamante, a distinguished professional who served as president of a Mexican college, is also an independent United Nations inspector on immigrant rights. He's on a three-week tour to investigate immigrant issues in the United States, most notably conditions at immigrant detention facilities. His findings will be the basis of a report he is to present to the United Nation's Human Rights Council.

Yet, Bustamante has been getting mixed signals from Washington.

On the one hand, State Department officials are telling him he has free access to visit wherever he chooses. On the other hand, ICE, who is responsible for overseeing the detention facilities, denies him access only hours before he is scheduled to visit.

It happened on May 7 at the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas where women and children are basically incarcerated and subjected to Emotional abuse from some prison guards.

And it happened this week at New Jersey's Monmouth County Jail where the same stories of unnecessary harsh and abusive treatment are being reported.

Please check out the rest of her post: Latino Groups Banding Together to Raise Awareness of ICE Abuses. It's really worth reading, and some thinking as well.

Meanwhile, somebody asked Marisa in the comments (in the nicest possible way, I must say) if she's really sure that these abuses are really happening. Marisa says she is; I don't know her sources, so I can't say if it's true or not. But I ask you this: if there are no abuses at the immigrant detention facilities, why is Bustamante being denied access to these facilities?