Officers at Texas immigration detention facility accused of beatings and sexual abuse

"Officers at the large immigration detention camp located at the Fort Bliss army base in Texas are allegedly mistreating detainees, with accusations including beatings, sexual abuse and clandestine deportations of non-Mexican nationals into Mexico, according to a coalition of local and national US civil rights organizations. In a 19-page letter, addressed to senior government officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and Fort Bliss military command,"

"The advocates called for the immediate closure of the camp, where more than 2,700 detainees are being held in a complex of tents. In light of these abuses, we urge the end to detention of immigrants at Fort Bliss, said the letter signed by eight organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Humans Rights Watch, Estrella del Paso, the Texas Civil Rights Project and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center."

Officers at the Fort Bliss Camp East Montana immigration detention camp are accused of mistreating detainees, including beatings, sexual abuse, and clandestine deportations of non-Mexican nationals into Mexico. A 19-page complaint to ICE and Fort Bliss command alleges violations of agency policies, statutory rights, and constitutional protections. More than 2,700 detainees are held in tents at the complex. Eight civil rights organizations demanded immediate closure and an end to detention at Fort Bliss. DHS denied all allegations and called claims of inhumane conditions categorically false. Over 45 detainees gave sworn testimony describing masked agents forcing border jumps and threats of imprisonment; some said asylum seekers from Cuba and Guatemala were deported into Mexico.

Read at www.theguardian.com