Media Contact: Alex Mensing, alex[@]ccijustice.org, 415.684.5463
September 24, 2024
For immediate release
DHS Slammed with Third Civil Rights Complaint in One Month, Revealing Medical Care Is Being Weaponized at Central Valley ICE Detention Centers
“We’re going to do everything we can to ship you guys out of here, and that’s on my agenda.” - Golden State Annex’s lead medical care administrator to hunger strikers earlier this summer
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On Tuesday, September 24, 2024, four people in immigration detention filed a federal complaint to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) exposing the weaponization of medical care to suppress First Amendment-protected activity at two Central Valley immigrant detention centers: Mesa Verde ICE Detention Facility (Mesa Verde) and Golden State Annex ICE Detention Facility (Golden State). The Complaint follows recent revelations of sexual and gender-based abuse, physical and psychological violence, and deprivation of basic necessities like water and toilet paper at the facilities.
While on hunger strike earlier this summer, the Complainants and their fellow strikers saw medical staff abuse their power to stop detained people from calling attention to deplorable conditions, oftentimes endangering the health and safety of the people for whom they are meant to care. They cited pretextual medical rationales to forcibly move Complainants, all of whom are outspoken leaders in detention, into solitary confinement and detention centers a thousand miles away from their families and counsel. They further endangered detained people’s health by intentionally denying hunger strikers with vital advice and care, in blatant violation of their obligations as medical workers.
Two of the Complainants joined over 80 people in re-launching a hunger strike earlier this week, renewing their demands for freedom and an end to the contracts governing the facilities. “I’ve been detained in ICE custody since May, and this is already my third time going on hunger strike,” shared Complainant Fernando Arciniega. “I'm filing this complaint to be a voice for all the others who aren't able to talk about all the unfairness that happens in here. We're in a system designed to break you. People sign deportation orders just to escape detention, and other people stay silent because they’re afraid that ICE will deport them for speaking out, or staff will retaliate against them by transferring them or through medical staff threatening their health.”
"Dozens of people detained in Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex have put their health on the line and made clear that GEO Group uses public funds to commit civil rights violations with impunity.” said Aseem Mehta, Staff Attorney at Asian Law Caucus. “Amid ongoing labor and hunger strikes, and a series of complaints detailing medical neglect, sexual abuse, and retaliation, we call on Congress and DHS to be true to their commitments to safety and end GEO Group's $1.5 billion contracts for these facilities."
The contract authorizing the GEO Group, a for-profit prison company, to operate both Mesa Verde and Golden State on ICE’s behalf was signed in 2019 and is up for renewal this year. Since its signing, people detained at the Central Valley detention facilities have sacrificed their bodies through hunger and labor strikes at least 11 separate times to bring attention to life-threatening conditions. They have filed numerous Civil Rights complaints and class action lawsuits highlighting their concerns. Paying heed, Members of Congress have twice now called for the investigation of these facilities, and shutdowns if the allegations prove true. Meanwhile, DHS continues to spend billions of dollars, much of it in waste, to operate the mesa Verde and Golden State.
A copy of the CRCL complaint can be found here. You can also download it below.
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