ACLU calls on DHS to shut down Imperial Regional Detention Facility
Calexico facility one of 39 deemed 'unsafe, abusive' by legal group
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wants the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shut down nearly 40 ICE detention facilities, including the one in Calexico.
The ACLU on Wednesday, sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas detailing its problems with the detention centers and urging their closure.
Read the ACLU's full letter to Secretary Mayorkas here
“Time and time again, the immigration detention facilities in San Diego and Imperial counties have proven to be unsafe, abusive and unable to uphold the due process rights of the people trapped inside, said Monika Langarica, a immigration rights attorney for the ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “It is past time to bring an end to the shameful practice of detaining immigrants in our region and across the country and embrace a policy of humane and fair processing.”
The ACLU says some of the facilities on its list were opened without adequate justification. The group claims other were opened in such remote locations the detainees aren't receiving adequate legal and medical care.
The ACLU says it selected Imperial Regional Detention Facility for that reason. It says its location prevents migrants from getting access to legal resources, and that's restricting their access to due process.
The group also targets Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego claiming it has a documented pattern of abuse, mistreatment, and misconduct.
Other facilities on the ACLU's list include:
- Etowah County Jail, Alabama
- Eloy Detention Center, Arizona
- La Palma Correctional Center, Arizona
- Adelanto Detention Center, California
- Desert View Annex, California
- Imperial Regional Detention Facility, California
- Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility, California
- Otay Mesa Detention Center, California
- Yuba County Jail, California
- Baker’s County Sheriff’s Office, Florida
- Glades County Detention Center, Florida
- Krome North Service Processing Center, Florida
- Irwin County Detention Center, Georgia
- Stewart County Detention Center, Georgia
- Allen Parish Public Safety Complex, Louisiana
- Catahoula Correctional Center, Louisiana
- Jackson Parish Correctional Center, Louisiana
- LaSalle ICE Processing Center, Louisiana
- Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center, Louisiana
- Richwood Correctional Center, Louisiana
- River Correctional Center, Louisiana
- South Louisiana Correctional Center, Louisiana
- Winn Correctional Center, Louisiana
- Bristol County House of Corrections, Massachusetts
- Calhoun County Correctional Facility, Michigan
- Adams County Detention Facility, Mississippi
- The Shelburne County Jail, Minnesota
- Otero County Processing Center, New Mexico
- Okmulgee County Jail, Oklahoma
- Clinton County Correctional Facility, Pennsylvania
- Pike County Correctional Facility, Pennsylvania
- York County Prison, Pennsylvania
- Bluebonnet Detention Facility, Texas
- El Valle Detention Center, Texas
- T. Don Hutto Residential Center, Texas
- IAH Secure Adult Detention Facility, Texas
- Montgomery ICE Processing Center, Texas
- Prairieland Detention Facility, Texas
- Farmville Detention Center, Virginia
