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For a month I've been talking to people detained at the Port Isabel Detention Center in the #RGV
It's an @ICEgov facility
They've been worried about #COVID19
Groups like @RGVEqualVoice have called for their release
My latest for @TPRNews: https://bit.ly/3dbndJ4
For a month I've been talking to people detained at the Port Isabel Detention Center in the #RGV
It's an @ICEgov facility
They've been worried about #COVID19
Groups like @RGVEqualVoice have called for their release
My latest for @TPRNews: https://bit.ly/3dbndJ4
People detained there say ICE is moving people from dorm to dorm, they say employees don't wear proper PPE when interacting with them & that getting information from staff is difficult
On June 5th there were 4 COVID cases, a week later there were a total of 34, today it's 41
On June 5th there were 4 COVID cases, a week later there were a total of 34, today it's 41
I also spoke to several people who said they asked ICE to deport them because they were scared of being at the facility
That fear also caused some people to start a hunger strike, but they allege ICE retaliated against them for participating & to discourage others from joining
That fear also caused some people to start a hunger strike, but they allege ICE retaliated against them for participating & to discourage others from joining
According to some of the people detained there, there were also reports of several dormitories being placed under quarantine
Some of the men I spoke with had medical issues, like asthma, & had their loved ones on the outside call me to help share their stories
Some of the men I spoke with had medical issues, like asthma, & had their loved ones on the outside call me to help share their stories
Several local orgs like @RGVEqualVoice, @LUPE_rgv & @AngryTiasRGV & @RepFilemonVela have called on DHS & ICE to release people detained there because of fears that the virus will continue to spread & impact not only those inside, but the workers & families employees go home to
For those of you that are interested, I wanted to share some of the responses I got from ICE regarding some of the things I talked about in my story.
The first, this is ICE’s response to me asking why there had been such an increase of cases at the facility
The first, this is ICE’s response to me asking why there had been such an increase of cases at the facility
These are responses I got when I asked about why people were/are being moved from dorm to dorm & a response I got when I asked about what other things are being done to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at the facility
One interesting thing about cohorting, see photo, it says ideally people should be isolated individually, but some facilities don’t have space
ICE also says it respects the rights of people to voice their opinion without interference & doesn’t retaliate against hunger strikers
ICE also says it respects the rights of people to voice their opinion without interference & doesn’t retaliate against hunger strikers
