Latest news with #detainees
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Maryland leaders to visit Baltimore ICE detention facility amid allegations of "inhumane conditions"
Several Maryland leaders are scheduled to visit the George H. Fallon Federal Building in Baltimore following allegations of inhumane conditions for detainees held there by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The group includes U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and U.S. Reps. Glenn Ivey, Johnny Olzewski Jr., and Sarah Elfreth. ICE has previously denied the allegations, saying it "remains committed to enforcing immigration laws fairly, safely and humanely." The agency said it complies with federal law and agency policies, and it upholds the "well-being and dignity" of those in custody. A federal class-action lawsuit filed by the Amica Center and the National Immigration Project alleges that ICE "fails to meet basic human needs" for detainees and is violating its own standards at the Baltimore facility. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Maryland women detained by ICE at the Fallon building, after a judge ruled to suspend their deportation. Attorneys argue the two women were held in "inhumane" holding rooms for prolonged periods - one for 60 hours, and the other for 48 hours, which they allege is in violation of ICE's own policy. Immigration advocacy groups and Maryland leaders have raised concerns about conditions inside the Fallon building. In March, the Amica Center and nonprofit CASA held a rally to highlight the experiences of those detained. One CASA member said his daughter had been held in the facility for several days. "They are forced to endure meals of insufficient food, barely any water, and most appallingly, people like my daughter are being denied their vital medications they need for their health and wellbeing," the CASA member said. In April, staffers for Van Hollen and Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks visited the building. Following the visit, the two senators wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons about the reported conditions that detainees faced while in holding cells. In their letter, the senators said they learned detainees were being held longer than allowed by ICE standards and that the facility could not meet basic needs. They also cited overcrowded holding cells without beds, inadequate food service, and said there was no on-site medical staff. ICE has previously responded to the claims about conditions at its Baltimore facility, explaining that the holding rooms at the location are not held to the same standards as detention facilities. "ICE Baltimore operates a holding room, not a detention facility, and therefore is not subject to the standards outlined in the 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards," the agency said in a statement. The agency also said it complies with federal laws, and the ICE Health Service Corps is on site to provide medical services when needed. "In the event of a medical emergency, detainees are promptly transported to nearby hospitals to receive immediate and appropriate care," the agency said in a statement. "ICE remains dedicated to transparency and accountability in our operations."
CBS News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
New York state Democrats inspect conditions for ICE detainees at Nassau County Jail
Some New York state Democrats visited the Nassau County Jail in East Meadow to inspect conditions Wednesday. The federal government is leasing space inside the jail for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees and reimbursing the county $195 per day per detainee. Under the partnership, detainees can't be jailed for longer than 72 hours. Nassau County says over 1,400 people have been held so far this year under a collaboration with ICE, and the county has set aside 50 jail cells for the agency to use. Bryan Perez, a Hofstra grad and paralegal, represents immigrants, like his own family, at CARECEN, the Central American Refugee Center. "People are being detained, they're being taken to the Nassau County Jail, and then afterwards, it's been very difficult to trace where they have gone to," he said. After saying they were initially denied jail access, lawmakers Michaelle Solages and Julia Salazar toured the ICE cells in East Meadow. "It's to ensure that there's transparency and accountability because this is a Nassau County facility," Solages said. "Individuals are in their cells. They were being provided with food." Conditions were good, they said, except there were no showers and detainees had no outdoor activity. The jail says that's because of the detainees' brief stays. Wednesday, 14 people were being held by ICE at Nassau County Jail. The lawmakers claimed they were only detained because they were not born in this country. "It's heartbreaking to see that Nassau County is being complicit in this," Solages said. "Even myself personally, I don't feel safe either. I'm an American citizen, but we've seen so far, too, that even American citizens have been detained, have been stopped," Perez said. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman says they are cooperating with ICE because it makes Nassau safer. "In the majority of instances, there has been criminal activity, and that's why they are there," he said. "I can't say all because ICE does not share that information with us." Blakeman also believes, however, there should be a path forward for those who have been working here for years. "There should be a formula based on common sense and compassion," he said. Blakeman says after it was brought to his attention, showers will now be provided, but outdoor activity will not be because ICE detainees are not allowed to mingle with the general population.
France 24
22-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Venezuela accuses El Salvador of torturing migrants deported by US
Venezuela Attorney General Tarek Saab said on Monday that his office will investigate El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and two other officials for the alleged abuse of Venezuelans who were detained in the Central American country. More than 250 Venezuelans held in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison returned to Venezuela on Friday, under the terms of a prisoner exchange agreed with the United States. Detainees suffered human rights abuses ranging from sexual abuse to beatings, were denied medical care or treated without anesthesia and given food and water that made them ill, Saab said at a press conference. As well as Bukele, Venezuela will investigate El Salvador' s Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro and Head of Prisons Osiris Luna Meza, Saab said, after showing videos of former detainees recounting torture and showing injuries - including a missing molar, bruising and scars - they said were the result of the abuse. Bukele's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the assertions made in the videos. Two of those shown speaking were identifiable as former detainees in CECOT. 01:44 Late on Monday, Bukele posted about the return on social media but did not comment on the abuse allegations. "The Maduro regime was satisfied with the swap deal; that's why they accepted it," he said on X. "Now they scream their outrage, not because they disagree with the deal but because they just realized they ran out of hostages from the most powerful country in the world." The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the United States in March after US President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday, where some reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. "I can't stop thinking of the hunger my son went through," Yajaira Fuenmayor, the mother of former El Salvador detainee Alirio Guillermo Belloso, said on Sunday afternoon from her home in Maracaibo. "I have a salad ready, some grilled arepas (traditional corn cakes) because he loves them, and there is fish in the refrigerator to fry." The government has said the men will be medically evaluated and interviewed before being released. It has always said the El Salvador detentions were illegal and that only seven of the men had serious criminal records. POLITICAL PRISONERS FREED The Venezuelan opposition has regularly critiqued the government of President Nicolas Maduro for holding activists and others in similar conditions within Venezuela. The US said last week that 80 Venezuelans would be released from Venezuelan jails as part of the swap, which also freed 10 Americans held in Venezuela. Forty-eight Venezuelan political prisoners have so far been released, legal rights advocacy group Foro Penal said earlier on Monday on X. "We regret the absence of an official list that allows us to verify with more precision," the group said, adding that some lists in circulation have included people not classed as political detainees, people who had already been released and even prisoners who have died. The communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about who is set to be released and whether any of them will be subject to house arrest or other alternatives to detention. The main opposition coalition in Venezuela has cheered the release of the prisoners. But the coalition said on Sunday nearly 1,000 people remain jailed in Venezuela for political reasons and 12 others have been arrested in recent days, in what it called a "revolving door" for political prisoners.
The Guardian
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Venezuela to investigate alleged torture of its citizens in El Salvador jail
Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek Saab, said on Monday that his office would investigate El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, and two other officials for the alleged abuse of Venezuelans detained in the country. More than 250 Venezuelans held in El Salvador's notorious Cecot prison returned to Venezuela on Friday under the terms of a prisoner exchange agreed with the US. Detainees suffered human rights abuses ranging from sexual abuse to beatings, were denied medical care or treated without anaesthesia and given food and water that made them ill, Saab said at a press conference. As well as Bukele, Venezuela would investigate El Salvador's justice minister, Gustavo Villatoro, and its head of prisons, Osiris Luna Meza, Saab said, after showing videos of former detainees recounting torture and showing injuries – including a missing molar, bruising and scars – they said were the result of the abuse. Bukele's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the assertions made in the videos, but two of those shown speaking were identifiable as former Cecot detainees. The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the US in March after Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and led to a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday, where some were reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. Yajaira Fuenmayor, the mother of the returned detainee Alirio Guillermo Belloso, said on Sunday afternoon from her home in Maracaibo that she was preparing him arepas, traditional corn cakes, as a welcome. 'I can't stop thinking of the hunger my son went through. I have a salad ready, some grilled arepas because he loves them, and there is fish in the refrigerator to fry,' she said. The government said the men would be medically evaluated and interviewed before being released. It has always said the El Salvador detentions were illegal and that only seven of the men had serious criminal records. The Venezuelan opposition has regularly criticised the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, and his government for holding activists and others in similar conditions in Venezuela. The US said last week that 80 Venezuelans would be released from Venezuelan jails as part of the deal, under which 10 US citizens held in Venezuela were also to be freed. Forty-eight Venezuelan political prisoners have so far been released, the legal rights advocacy group Foro Penal said earlier on Monday on X. 'We regret the absence of an official list that allows us to verify with more precision,' the group said, adding that some lists in circulation had included people not classed as political detainees, people who had already been released and even prisoners who had died. 'At Foro Penal we remain in coordination with families working to verify other cases.' The communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about who was to be released and whether any of them would be subject to house arrest or other alternatives to detention. The main opposition coalition in Venezuela cheered the release of the prisoners, but said on Sunday that nearly 1,000 people were still in jail in Venezuela for political reasons and that 12 others had been arrested in recent days in what it called a 'revolving door' for political prisoners.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Venezuela to investigate alleged torture of its citizens in El Salvador jail
Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek Saab, said on Monday that his office would investigate El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, and two other officials for the alleged abuse of Venezuelans detained in the country. More than 250 Venezuelans held in El Salvador's notorious Cecot prison returned to Venezuela on Friday under the terms of a prisoner exchange agreed with the US. Detainees suffered human rights abuses ranging from sexual abuse to beatings, were denied medical care or treated without anaesthesia and given food and water that made them ill, Saab said at a press conference. As well as Bukele, Venezuela would investigate El Salvador's justice minister, Gustavo Villatoro, and its head of prisons, Osiris Luna Meza, Saab said, after showing videos of former detainees recounting torture and showing injuries - including a missing molar, bruising and scars - they said were the result of the abuse. Bukele's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters was not immediately able confirm the assertions made in the videos, but two of those shown speaking were identifiable as former Cecot detainees. The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the US in March after Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and led to a legal battle with the Trump administration. Family members and lawyers of many of the men deny they had gang ties. The former detainees arrived near Caracas on Friday, where some were reunited with their families, but they have not yet returned to their own homes. Yajaira Fuenmayor, the mother of the returned detainee Alirio Guillermo Belloso, said on Sunday afternoon from her home in Maracaibo that she was preparing him arepas, traditional corn cakes, as a welcome. 'I can't stop thinking of the hunger my son went through. I have a salad ready, some grilled arepas because he loves them, and there is fish in the refrigerator to fry,' she said. The government has said the men will be medically evaluated and interviewed before being released. It has always said the El Salvador detentions were illegal and that only seven of the men had serious criminal records. The Venezuelan opposition has regularly criticised the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, and his government for holding activists and others in similar conditions in Venezuela. The US said last week that 80 Venezuelans would be released from Venezuelan jails as part of the deal, under which 10 US citizens held in Venezuela were also to be freed. Forty-eight Venezuelan political prisoners have so far been released, the legal rights advocacy group Foro Penal said earlier on Monday on X. 'We regret the absence of an official list that allows us to verify with more precision,' the group said, adding that some lists in circulation had included people not classed as political detainees, people who had already been released and even prisoners who had died. 'At Foro Penal we remain in coordination with families working to verify other cases.' The communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about who is to be released and whether any of them will be subject to house arrest or other alternatives to detention. The main opposition coalition in Venezuela has cheered the release of the prisoners, but said on Sunday that nearly 1,000 people were still in jail in Venezuela for political reasons and that 12 others had been arrested in recent days in what it called a 'revolving door' for political prisoners.
