2 of 4 Men Who Escaped From Immigration Detention Center Are Caught
Two of the four men who escaped from an immigration detention center in New Jersey on Thursday have been captured, federal authorities said on Sunday.
The men, Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez of Honduras and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada of Colombia, were taken into custody after three days on the run, according to a spokeswoman from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was unclear on Sunday where or how the men were tracked down.
The authorities are still searching for the other two men, Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes of Honduras and Andres Pineda-Mogollon of Colombia, the spokeswoman said.
The men escaped from Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, an overcrowded center where conditions in recent weeks have continued to deteriorate.
Some detainees have been forced to sleep on the floor, and others were given slices of bread instead of a meal, immigration lawyers and family members told The New York Times. The detainees, they said, had become so frustrated with the conditions that they had begun to cover up the security cameras and smash walls and windows.
The disorder has raised questions about the center and others like it around the country, where about 51,000 migrants are being held.
The 1,000-bed facility is run by GEO Group, a private company that has come under public scrutiny for the building's poor construction and bad management. GEO Group won a 15-year, $1 billion contract from the Trump administration in February to convert the building into a detention center.
On Friday, Senator Andy Kim and Representative Rob Menendez of New Jersey, both Democrats, toured the center. After the tour, Mr. Kim said at a news conference that the men who escaped had punched a hole through an exterior wall, which was 'essentially just drywall with some mesh inside.'
'It shows just how shoddy construction was,' Mr. Kim added.
In a news release on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security said that 'there has been no widespread unrest at the Delaney Hall Detention facility' and that the 'privately held facility remains dedicated to providing high-quality services.'
Christopher Ferreira, a GEO Group spokesman, issued a similar statement and noted that the company offered services including medical care, family visitations and opportunities to exercise religious faiths.
The men who escaped had been arrested on criminal charges in New Jersey. Mr. Sandoval-Lopez was arrested twice in Passaic, once on Oct. 3 on charges of unlawful possession of a handgun and once on Feb. 15 on a charge of aggravated assault, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Castaneda-Lozada was arrested in Hammonton on May 15 on several charges, including burglary.
Mr. Bautista-Reyes was arrested in Wayne Township, N.J., on May 3 on several charges, including assault and illegal possession of a weapon, the agency said. Mr. Pineda-Mogollon was arrested on May 21 on burglary charges.
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