"Queer and trans immigrants at a detention facility in south Louisiana have alleged that they faced sexual harassment and abuse, medical neglect and coerced labor by staff at the facility, and that they were repeatedly ignored or faced retaliation for speaking out. In multiple legal complaints, immigrants detained at the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center (SLIPC) in Basile, Louisiana, said they were recruited into an unsanctioned work program that forced them to perform hard manual labor for as little as $1 per day."
"Three current and former detainees who spoke to the Guardian said that, between 2023 and 2025, they endured months of abuse from an assistant warden named Manuel Reyes and his associates. In their complaints to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the detainees also said that they faced retaliation for reporting the abuse to authorities, alleging that Reyes and other staff beat them and denied them medical treatment."
Queer and trans immigrants detained at the South Louisiana Ice Processing Center in Basile allege sexual harassment, physical abuse, medical neglect, and coerced labor. Detainees say an unsanctioned work program forced hard manual labor for as little as $1 per day, including moving heavy cabinets and cinder blocks and using industrial-strength chemicals without protective gear. Multiple detainees identify an assistant warden, Manuel Reyes, as a central perpetrator who stalked, harassed and assaulted queer detainees and who allegedly led retaliation including beatings and denial of medical care. Complaints were filed with DHS and ICE covering abuse from 2023 to 2025.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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