ICE Official Reveals Miserable Conditions for U.S. Immigrants at Djibouti Prison

A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official on Thursday detailed appalling and unsafe conditions faced by a group of deportees and the establishment representatives guarding them at a U S military base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti Melissa Harper the number two official at ICE s Enforcement and Removal Operations bemoaned a lack of adequate defense equipment at the U S base Camp Lemonnier In a sworn court declaration she described illness among the detainees and leadership agents inadequate biological care and -degree outdoor temperatures She detailed risks of malaria exposure to smoke from nearby burn pits and foreseen attacks from militants in Yemen The aliens are in the present being held in a conference room in a converted Conex shipping container on the U S Naval base in Camp Lemonnier disclosed Harper in a sworn declaration in federal court in Massachusetts This has been identified as the only viable place to house the aliens Eight detainees from Cuba Laos Mexico Myanmar South Sudan and Vietnam who had been convicted of serious crimes in the U S were flown to the military base last month after the Trump administration attempted to expel them to South Sudan A judge blocked that expulsion telling the administration they could not send the men to the war-stricken country before they were given an opportunity to contest their deportation Now imprisoned in Djibouti the men are right now supervised by ICE personnel with two other ICE employees serving as biological staff Those administrators Harper commented in court do not have the ceiling to maintain constant surveillance custody and care of the detainees Trina Realmuto a lawyer for the immigrants in the scenario stated The Intercept that the regime brought this situation upon itself The judge gave the ruling body a choice as to how to remedy the regime s violation of the court s order either return them and comply with the order in the United States or comply with the order overseas she revealed The leadership opted to comply overseas after telling the court that they had the ability to do so This is a situation the administration both created and can remedy if it so chooses U S District Judge Brian Murphy ordered the Trump administration to halt the planned deportations to South Sudan after lawyers informed him of a flight to that war-torn African country that had already taken off He cited a previous ruling he issued in April that barred leaders from deporting displaced persons to third countries without affording them certain due process rights first The Trump administration instead opted to detain the men in Djibouti as it argues its occurrence The U S administration has been laying the groundwork for a global gulag for expelled immigrants The Trump administration is already using the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center or CECOT in Tecoluca El Salvador and has its sights set on numerous other countries including multiple that the State Department has excoriated for human rights abuses In addition to using U S military sites at Guant namo Bay Cuba and now in Djibouti the U S has reportedly explored sought or struck deals with more than countries Angola Benin Costa Rica El Salvador Eswatini Equatorial Guinea Guatemala Guyana Honduras Kosovo Libya Mexico Moldova Mongolia Panama Rwanda Saudi Arabia South Sudan Ukraine and Uzbekistan Camp Lemonnier is the primary U S military base on the African continent For weeks U S Africa Command has refused to offer any details on the conditions faced by the prisoners and ICE functionaries there Inquired about the conditions by The Intercept last month AFRICOM spokesperson Kelly Cahalan noted Please reach out to the White House The White House failed to respond to repeated questions from The Intercept In her testimony a sworn declaration regarding the development filed to Murphy Harper detailed additional dangers at the U S military base Djibouti utilizes burn pits as a way disposing of trash and human waste she announced These pits create a smog cloud in the vicinity of Camp Lemonnier making it complex to breathe and requiring anatomical healing for the officers who have experienced throat irritation Harper reported that military information are being used for the detainees care causing disruptions at the base DOD operators have expressed frustration particularly about the proximity to DOD quarters of aliens with violent criminal records she revealed ICE therapeutic staff has also received limited medication and physiological supplies for both officers and the aliens from DOD It is unknown how long the healthcare supply will last Additionally Harper declared that within hours of landing in Djibouti both the ICE agents and detainees began suffering from unidentified illnesses ICE officers continue to feel ill with manifestations such as coughing difficulty breathing fever and achy joints These indicators align with bacterial upper respiratory infection but ICE officers are unable to obtain proper testing for a identification she stated Harper announced the curative staff did not have immediate access to the medications necessary to treat the sicknesses Our flight nurse has since been able to obtain particular but not all of what is necessary for the proper care and safety of both the officers and the detainees It is unknown how long the medicinal supply will last she stated in the sworn declaration ICE failed to provide a more detailed accounting of the healthcare status of the eight detainees We continue to be concerned about the wellbeing and safety of the men who are being subjected to these conditions stated Realmuto The post ICE Official Reveals Miserable Conditions for U S Immigrants at Djibouti Prison appeared first on The Intercept