Immigrant Abuse Alleged In Class-Action Lawsuit

A recent class-action lawsuit alleges that agents with the U.S. Border Patrol have committed acts of immigrant abuse against undocumented immigrants. The accusations of immigrant abuse also include holding immigrants in cells for days with no food, water or beds. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, the National Immigration Law Center, the American Immigration Council and other immigrant advocacy groups, seeks to have a federal judge order immediate reforms of Border Patrol practices.

Details of Immigrant Abuse Lawsuit

The advocacy groups held a conference call with reporters, in which they laid out the premise of their immigrant abuse lawsuit. They described the treatment of undocumented immigrants, including women and children, at the Tucson Sector Border Patrol holding facility as “brutal.” The immigrant abuse lawsuit follows after agencies filed several complaints against the Border Patrol’s Tucson office. The suit also alleges that Tucson Sector, one of the busiest in the country, failed to respond to any of the previous complaints.

Immigrant Abuse Allegations

The immigrant abuse lawsuit alleges that tens of thousands of men, women and children were kept locked in concrete cells for an average of nearly 50 hours. The cells did not have beds or benches and were frequently overcrowded. Other instances of immigrant abuse included denying detainees clean water and inedible food. Detainees also did not receive soap, toothbrushes or other means of cleaning themselves. Other reports included stories of young children left crying for hours due to hunger and thirst on a cold concrete floor.

Immigrant Abuse Includes Lack of Medical Treatment

Some of the victims of alleged immigrant abuse also stated that they had medical conditions that were left untreated during their detainment. Nora Preciado, an attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, related an incident of immigrant abuse to reporters about a woman who had suffered a sexual assault during her border crossing. She had told border guards about “heavy vaginal bleeding,” but no one at the facility provided her with any medical treatment. Another immigrant reported that border guards ignored him after he reported experiencing severe stomach pains from the food he received.

Immigrant Abuse Lawsuit Seeks Reforms

When asked about solutions to the immigrant abuse problem, Ms. Preciado told reporters that border guards could “stop detaining women and children, for starters.” She also stressed that the Border Patrol should follow its own rules for preventing immigrant abuse, including granting detainees clean water, edible food and sanitary conditions. ACLU attorney James Lyall stated that the Border Patrol lives in “a notorious culture of abuse and impunity” and hopes the lawsuit will prompt the necessary changes.

Source: Phoenix New Times

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