Contact: Edwin Carmona-Cruz | 415-933-4922 | edwin[@]ccijustice.org

Esperanza Cuautle Velazquez | 415-271-5644 | advocate[@]pangealegal.org

Alex Mensing | 619-432-6378 | alexm[@]innovationlawlab.org


September 14, 2022


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


BREAKING: Detained Leaders file simultaneous federal complaints against ICE, GEO Group & MTC

The federal complaints detail retaliation, medical negligence, and other abuses at three detention centers in California


CALIFORNIA — Labor strikers at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center and the Golden State Annex, owned and operated by The GEO Group, and Leaders detained at Imperial Regional Detention Facility, operated by Management and Training Corporation, released the following statement:


“Today, a collective of leaders and individuals detained at multiple facilities in California, filed two simultaneous complaints to the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties outlining the continued retaliation we face at the hands of ICE officials and its private prison operators for exercising our constitutional rights. Those officials have taken aggressive steps to try to suppress our voice, including attempts to transfer us out of state and unlawful placement in solitary confinement. The retaliation we face is also manifested through the delayed or out-right denial of proper medical care. These facilities operate by instilling fear and intimidation so that we do not speak out against these abuses. We stand united and will continue to raise our voices to hold these facilities accountable.


We understand that these are not isolated incidents. Complaints of this kind are filed against ICE and its private prison operators frequently across the country. In fact, this is the second such complaint filed to this office in a single year for the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center and the Golden State Annex, and the second complaint in eight months for the Imperial Regional Detention Facility. Additionally, the incidents described in these complaints are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the abuse, neglect, and retaliation that goes on in ICE detention. Many abuses go unreported due to fear or other barriers.

This is why we demand meaningful action from federal officials. They must launch a full and transparent investigation into the pattern of retaliation, recommend that ICE terminate its contracts with GEO Group and MTC, and recommend that funds that fuel detention be reinvested into community resources and programming.


We call on Members of Congress, particularly those from California, to ensure an investigation is conducted and completed without interruption or interference, as complaints and reports like this continue to supplement our calls for a complete shutdown of these facilities.


We call for the immediate release of all individuals detained at Mesa Verde, Golden State Annex, and Imperial Regional Detention Facility so that we may heal with our loved ones from our traumatic experiences in these facilities and obtain the proper medical care we so desperately need.”


A copy of the complaints can be found here and here.

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