All posts tagged: detainees

Immigrant detainees sue over ‘horrific’ conditions at Texas ICE facility : NPR

Immigrant detainees sue over ‘horrific’ conditions at Texas ICE facility : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

A sign marks the entrance to a series of hardened tents at the Camp East Montana immigrant detention center in the desert at a U.S. Army base on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, Feb. 13, 2026. Morgan Lee/AP hide caption toggle caption Morgan Lee/AP Four detainees at the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the U.S. filed a federal lawsuit on Saturday alleging human rights abuses, “horrific” conditions and “severe medical neglect” at the facility. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, details “inhumane” treatment inside Camp East Montana on the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. The suit describes a litany of abuse allegations, including a lack of medical care and physical violence at the hands of guards, and accuses the government of human rights and constitutional violations. “Detained people are regularly subjected to severe beatings or sexual harassment by guards; squalid living conditions; spoiled and inadequate food; no meaningful programming or recreation; inadequate access to basic hygiene products such …

Amid protests at Delaney Hall, a Catholic nun has been offering ‘radical hospitality’

Amid protests at Delaney Hall, a Catholic nun has been offering ‘radical hospitality’

Published by Sam Flores

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) — For five days, Delaney Hall, an immigrant detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, has been in the news for large and loud protests over conditions inside the facility. After some 300 detainees began a hunger and labor strike over what they said were inhumane conditions, the protests have grown to include members of Congress, such as Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Robert Menendez, both Democrats from New Jersey.  But for the last year, one woman, Sister Susan Francois, has overseen a “Radical Hospitality” tent outside Delaney Hall, bearing witness and ministering to families and friends visiting detainees. She started coming in May 2025, when there was a major protest over conditions in front of Delaney Hall, and a New Jersey gubernatorial candidate and a member of Congress were arrested. Soon after, Francois started visiting about twice a week and documenting her work on TikTok, hoping to inspire other people to take action and spread hope. Watch a day in her life and the first episode of  “Faith on the Immigration Frontline,” …

Black detainees twice as likely as white detainees to be strip-searched in police custody – new study

Black detainees twice as likely as white detainees to be strip-searched in police custody – new study

Published by Sam Flores

The government has promised a new era of youth justice reform focused on protecting vulnerable children and reducing harm. At the same time, new evidence exposes uncomfortable truths about strip-searching in police custody. This is one of the most intrusive powers available to police behind closed doors, and is particularly harmful for children and other vulnerable people. Evidence has long shown that black, Asian and minority ethnic people are disproportionately subjected to the practice. Racial disparities appear particularly pronounced among children. In newly published research, my colleague Abi Dymond and I examined more than 25,000 custody records collected by an English police force between 2018 and 2022 to better understand what predicts strip-searching in custody. Using statistical modelling, we controlled for offence type, factors such as mental health and self-harm, use of force and time of arrival. Even after accounting for all of these factors, black detainees remained more than twice as likely to be strip-searched as their white counterparts. These findings align with existing evidence showing persistent racial disparities in the use of strip-searching. …

Israel to Sue New York Times Over Article on Rape of Palestinian Detainees, Netanyahu Says

Israel to Sue New York Times Over Article on Rape of Palestinian Detainees, Netanyahu Says

Published by Sam Flores

JERUSALEM, May 14 (Reuters) – Israel plans ⁠to ⁠sue The New York Times ⁠and one of its journalists for defamation over an article ​that said Israeli soldiers, prison guards and settlers had used widespread sexual violence against Palestinian ‌prisoners.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ‌on Thursday he had instructed his legal advisers “to consider the harshest legal action” ⁠against the ⁠newspaper and Nicholas Kristof, a veteran journalist who reported the story ​from the occupied West Bank. “They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and ​Israel’s valiant soldiers,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will fight these lies in ⁠the ⁠court of public opinion ⁠and in ​the court of law. Truth will prevail,” he added.      The United Nations and rights groups ​say they have documented ⁠the use of sexual violence by both Israel and Hamas since the militant Palestinian group’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel’s war in Gaza.  Netanyahu did not say where …

Israel approves law on death penalty for October 7 detainees | Death Penalty

Israel approves law on death penalty for October 7 detainees | Death Penalty

Published by Sam Flores

NewsFeed A new death penalty bill was approved by the Israeli Knesset to establish a special tribunal that can sentence Palestinians said to be linked to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks to death. Rights groups say it would weaken fair trial protections and make executions easier. Published On 12 May 202612 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link

After court battles, clergy visit ICE detainees in Illinois and Minnesota

After court battles, clergy visit ICE detainees in Illinois and Minnesota

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Shortly after the Rev. Paul Joseph Keller, two fellow Catholic priests and a nun were ushered into the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility outside Chicago on Thursday (April 2), a guard escorted five immigrant detainees to a space on the other side of a half-door. All were bound with shackles, Keller said. When he asked the guard, who was employed by a private company, if the shackles were necessary, the official apologized, explaining it was the result of being short-staffed. Keller and his colleagues then looked into the eyes of the detainees — some of which, he said, welled with tears — and did what they came to do: lead a brief, 15-minute Holy Thursday service, complete with prayers, Scripture readings and a reflection. As they concluded, one priest was allowed past the door, where he washed the immigrants’ feet, an ancient Christian ritual. Speaking to Religion News Service later that day, Keller said the experience of leading the service, which was repeated three times during their visit for a total of …

Judge grants Minneapolis clergy access to detainees in ICE holding facility

Judge grants Minneapolis clergy access to detainees in ICE holding facility

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow faith leaders inside a federal holding facility near Minneapolis after the clergy were denied access earlier this year while trying to provide religious support to immigrant detainees. U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell issued a preliminary injunction in support of clergy who sued the federal government, requiring the government to grant faith leaders immediate access to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building — which houses local Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices — while the case proceeds. The judge also instructed the government and the plaintiffs to attempt to work out shared protocol over the next week or so to address specific questions, such as whether faith leaders will be allowed to physically touch detainees. Irina Vaynerman, cofounder of Groundwork Legal, one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, told Religion News Service it was unusual for a judge to rule from the bench in such a case. “It speaks to the merits of the claims here, and also the urgency,” she …

A Mexican teen migrant dies in a Florida jail holding ICE detainees : NPR

A Mexican teen migrant dies in a Florida jail holding ICE detainees : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

FILE – A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge in New York, June 10, 2025. Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption toggle caption Yuki Iwamura/AP MIAMI — A 19-year-old Mexican migrant died at a county jail in Florida that has been holding immigrant detainees, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to ICE, Royer Perez-Jimenez “died of presumed suicide,” although an official cause of death remains under investigation. The death of Perez-Jimenez on Monday is the 46th reported under Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since the start of President Donald Trump’s administration in January 2025, according to a count by The Associated Press. Perez-Jimenez is the second person to die in ICE custody this week, after an Afghan immigrant — whose family said he had been evacuated from his country after working for years with U.S. forces — died in a Texas hospital after being detained by immigration authorities. Since the beginning of this year, 13 immigrants have died in ICE custody. Perez-Jimenez is the youngest to do so since the beginning of …

Minnesota faith groups sue DHS over access to immigrant detainees

Minnesota faith groups sue DHS over access to immigrant detainees

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — A group of religious organizations and faith leaders in Minnesota has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, alleging the agency is violating their religious freedom by denying them access to immigrant detainees at a local federal building. The lawsuit was filed Monday, Feb. 23, by the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Christopher Collins, a Jesuit priest. It alleges the government’s refusal to allow faith leaders access to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses the local offices of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is a violation of their rights under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “Pastoral care is the heart and soul of what our Pastors and Deacons are called to provide in their congregations and around the community. We walk together, listening, praying, guiding, and offering the peace and presence of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Jen Nagel, of the ELCA’s Minneapolis Area Synod, said in a statement. …

ICE detainee’s death ruled a homicide by medical examiner

ICE detainee’s death ruled a homicide by medical examiner

Published by Sam Flores

The death of an immigrant detainee at an El Paso facility has been ruled a homicide, according to the final autopsy report obtained Thursday by NBC News. Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, originally from Cuba, died Jan. 3 at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss. “Based on the investigative and examination findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death is asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. The manner of death is homicide,” the El Paso county medical examiner concluded in the report. Homicide means a person causes the death of another one, regardless of intent. When ICE first reported his death in a Jan. 9 press release, it stated that Lunas Campos had experienced “medical distress.” The agency said medical staff responded and initiated lifesaving measures and requested emergency medical services. In an email to NBC News on Thursday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated that Lunas Campos had attempted to take his own life and that the security staff had “immediately intervened to save his life.” …