South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, in the swamplands of Evangeline Parish. It is the last of the 14 remote immigration detention centers in United States, commonly known as “Detention Alley.” Managed by the prison corporation Geo Group, Broward is unique as an all-female facility that can hold more than 1,100 immigrant detainees. It has increasingly emerged as a leading issue in discussions and debates related to U.S. immigration policy and enforcement.
The facility drew recent national attention when, first reported by NPR, Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, was transferred there. She’d been detained first in Massachusetts prior to being transferred to this detention center. Her case illustrates the plight of many detainees at such centers, where access to legal representation is extremely limited.
The South Louisiana facility is operated by private correctional firm the Geo Group — the same company that manages the LaSalle court. This player’s court is located inside a massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in rural Jena, Louisiana. All eyes on the LaSalle court now! That’s all thanks to the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student. At the time, Khalil’s case sparked global outrage. The Trump administration tried to deport him under seldom used executive provisions of U.S. immigration law.
Advocates are rightly alarmed at the abysmally low asylum grant rate at the LaSalle court. The majority of these people are coming to court pro se, without a lawyer. In fact, statistics show that 52% of all applicants go through proceedings without the benefit of an attorney. Fernando Altamarino, a Mexican national and immigrant entrepreneur, lived this reality. From Panama City, Florida, he was moved more than 500 miles to get his case in front of a court. For much of the afternoon session, Altamarino spoke through a translator, underscoring the challenges that detainees who don’t speak English often face.
The dangerous and inhumane conditions in these massive facilities have sparked outrage from human rights groups. DHS’s civil rights division is investigating the circumstances surrounding the four deaths. Such acts have taken place at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. Their findings reveal an alarming trend of medical care delays.
We knew the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana was willing to sue. In reaction to these conditions, they filed a complaint with the DHS’s civil rights division. They claim an entire laundry list of rights violations that have allegedly occurred at the troubled facility.
“Guards left detained people suffering from severe conditions like external bleeding, tremors, and sprained limbs unattended to, refusing them access to diagnostic care.” – The ACLU of Louisiana
People such as Wilfredo Espinoza have written personal testimonies about the battles they have fought inside the center.
“I’ve had three issues with my heart here.” – Wilfredo Espinoza
“I just want to leave here as quickly as possible.” – Wilfredo Espinoza
Geo Group has always insisted that their contracts were under ICE’s performance-based national detention standards rubric. Critics say that these standards fail to meet basic requirements of innocent detainees and reflect an inversion of the legal presumption of innocence.
The facility’s operations have raised enough political controversy. A spokesperson commented on the allegations laid out in the Times against the center.
“These allegations are part of a longstanding, politically motivated, and radical campaign to abolish ICE and end federal immigration detention by attacking the federal government’s immigration facility contracts.” – A spokesperson
Even with these robust defenses, on-the-ground reality is still grim for most people in detention. The words of Andrew Perry from the ACLU of Louisiana resonate with those working to bring attention to these issues.
“Most of the folks in detention in Louisiana aren’t the ones making the news.” – Andrew Perry, an immigrant rights attorney at the ACLU of Louisiana