A congressman who toured an immigration prison says he found appallingly bad conditions and calls for major changes in how America treats undocumented aliens.
“It is time to close these prisons and bring humanity into the lives of the women and children who came to seek more of it than they’d been offered at home,” Rep. Raul M. Grijalva wrote in an article for The Guardian.
“I went to see for myself the conditions that the women and children incarcerated there face first hand – and what I saw was nothing short of heartbreaking,” said Grijalva, D-Arizona. He toured the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, with a congressional delegation.
“Should women and children who risk their lives fleeing to escape poverty and violence be put in for-profit prison?” Grijalva asked. “We proclaim to the world that those facing credible harm in their homelands can find refuge in America.”
Grijalva wrote, “Bungalows house multiple families per room and with a communal shower and no privacy.” They have a lack of medical care. “Some kids as old as 7 or 8 actually regressed back to wearing diapers as a result of their captivity.”
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pays $325.69 per day per detainee to the Corrections Corporation of America.” the congressman reported.
“But over the past 11 years, 32 people have died in the ‘care’ of Corrections Corporation of America’s facilities. Seven were suicides, and the rest resulted from a lack of medical attention,” he added.
“They are here to find refuge from horrifying conditions. They seek out Border Patrol agents – walk right up to them – and ask for our help,” he wrote.
Until a legally required hearing, asylum seekers are allowed to live in the United States on their own. “We’re not supposed to be holding them in prison facilities at all,” he said.
“To fix this, we must remove profit motives from incarceration in our society. To Corrections Corporation of America, these aren’t asylum seekers, they’re literally the company’s bottom line,” the report said.
Grijalva said as he was getting ready to leave, “a boy no older than 5 came up and hugged my leg … and asked, ‘Are you here to get us out of jail?’”