FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 4, 2019
Media contact: Rebekah Entralgo rentralgo@freedomforimmigrants.org, 786-897-4080
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- Dozens of local activists, members of faith-based groups, attorneys, and loved ones of Cuban asylum seekers in detention staged a protest in front of the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana this weekend. The group gathered to draw attention to the indefinite and abusive detention of people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and the alleged retaliation they face in detention for speaking out. According to firsthand accounts from two men detained and their families, on Oct. 16th a hunger strike of around 40 men protesting the death of another Cuban detainee and their own conditions and mistreatment was met with excessive force.
“I can’t describe what it feels like to be away from your family, to see human deterioration with your own eyes, to see how human life has so little value for some people, It is a long battle that has required a lot of sacrifices, I know but nothing will compare to the feeling of rescuing a relative from the clutches of Louisiana detention centers, because either you save them or they will gradually be taken away from you, not only physically but also psychologically,” said Alejandra Castellano, the sister of an asylum seeker from Cuba detained at Richwood Correctional Center. “It is not just about freeing immigrants from a jail cell, it is about saving their lives, because as we have seen, anyone in detention risks losing their life.”
The site of the protest is the same facility where Roylan Hernandez Diaz, a 43-year-old asylum seeker from Cuba, died of an apparent suicide last month following his placement in solitary confinement during a hunger strike. According to a Buzzfeed News report, despite the fact that Hernandez Diaz had passed his credible fear interview -- having been detained in his home country of Cuba for over 9 years -- his request to be released on parole to his wife in the US was denied. Family members of Cuban asylum seekers report to community human rights observers they are concerned Hernandez Diaz’s treatment at Richwood reflects a pattern of ICE targeting those in detention who speak out and self-organize.
“Family of men detained at Richwood, attorneys and community human rights observers visiting the facility share that directly following the apparent suicide, men were handcuffed and beaten aggressively while protesting Roylan’s death and their own prolonged detention and mistreatment. It’s unconscionable that this appears to be par for the course. Those standing up for their rights are being abused in detention with total impunity. We demand an immediate investigation,” said Sofia Casini, Southern Regional Coordinator, Freedom for Immigrants.
Richwood joins a growing list of Louisiana ICE detention centers that have documented instances of abuse against immigrants protesting prolonged detention and mistreatment. This year alone there have been at least 4 other large scale hunger strikes in Louisiana detention centers, including Pine Prairie, Bossier, River, and LaSalle.