Following the peaceful protest of Black asylum seekers held at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, Freedom for Immigrants and its partners filed a civil rights complaint with the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), calling on the agency to immediately halt and investigate the violent and discriminatory practices against Black asylum seekers and for their immediate release from solitary confinement. On August 10, 2020, Cameroonian asylum seekers at Pine Prairie staged a hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention, racist treatment from prison staff, and inhumane conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, prison officials used unnecessary lethal force to place them in choke holds, pointed a gun at them and told the men they were going to be placed in solitary confinement. Read the full complaint here.
Medical Neglect and Overuse of Solitary Confinement Against Hunger Strikers in Louisiana
Freedom for Immigrants and partners filed two complaints with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) on behalf of South Asian men detained at the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana. The men began a hunger strike on November 1, 2019, to protest their indefinite detention and demand their release. Since the start of their hunger strikes, one has been deported, while another was released to a sponsor on bond in late January. Since February 18, 2020, the whereabouts of two of the three men on hunger strike are unknown.
Failure to Respond to Medical Release Requests of Detained Men on Hunger Strike and Delays of Critical Medical Records
As five South Asian men reached the 75th day of a hunger strike in the GEO Group-operated LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana, where they have been subjected to the tortuous procedure of forced-hydration and force-feeding, Freedom for Immigrants filed a pair of complaints with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) on behalf of the five men.