We are deeply saddened by the death of 26-year-old Carlos Borroto, who was found hanging in his cell at the Hudson County Correctional Facility and is the sixth person to die at the facility in less than a year.
The death of one person at the hands of the state is one too many. But what we see here is a systemic issue and a health crisis.
The number of deaths at Hudson County Correctional Facility, which houses individuals both in the criminal justice and immigration detention systems, is indicative of the reckless disregard towards the lives of those in its custody.
In 2016, Freedom for Immigrants, with the help of First Friends of New Jersey and New York, filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of 61 men and women in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The complaint documented the pattern and practice of substandard medical care within the facility and the lack of proper oversight. This is unacceptable.
We join other immigrant rights advocates in demanding the creation of an effective Independent Medical Oversight Board in an effort to ensure transparency and accountability and to prevent the loss of another life.
- Christina Fialho, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Freedom for Immigrants