Immigration | Politics
Perhaps They Thought No One Would Notice
Minors and Adults Allege Sexual Assaults in ICE Detention Centers
Why are immigrants deported? Reporting sexual assault and harassment leads to deportation for some migrants and refugees in detention. One woman this past summer accused guards of sexually assaulting her in the El Paso processing center, forcibly kissing her and touching intimate parts.¹
The woman was seeking asylum in the US from a sexual assault by a high-ranking drug cartel/gang member. She had informed the police and was afraid for her life.²
Department of Homeland Security and FBI agents interviewed the woman for five hours.³ (That sounds more like an interrogation than an interview).
In front of the guards and detainees, the 35-year-old woman showed the interviewers spots that security cameras did not monitor in the detention center. One area she pointed out was along the walk from the medical unit to her barracks. She described a systematic pattern of abuse of herself and others in these areas. One guard, she said, had told her that the abuse would help her be released.⁴
Following her “interview”, authorities left her for 21 days in that center among guards who knew the names of the guards she had reported. “It was truly damaging to her to have to continue being detained and see her abusers all around her, to begin to be bullied by other detainees and guards,” said Linda Corchado, who represented the woman on behalf of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso.⁵
“You better watch yourself,” one guard reportedly said to her soon after she returned to the center from the meeting with FBI and Homeland Security.⁶
ICE retaliates by deporting the woman
In August of 2020 the woman’s attorney applied to ICE to not deport the woman detainee. She also filed a habeas petition in federal court to allow her to be supervised in a safe immigrant shelter in El Paso. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent the woman back to Mexico three days after the habeas petition was filed.⁷
Before the investigation was completed she was deported. Authorities informed her they would contact her by phone if necessary.⁸
Why was there no trial to allow this woman to safely testify?
Why was there no protection for her after an alleged sexual assault? For what reason was she placed back into the same detention center? Why was she deported so quickly? Did authorities consider helping her seek protection or justice regarding the alleged assault by a drug cartel in Mexico? Did the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI think no one would notice?
Thousands of adult and minor detainees allege assault, abuse, or harassment
The year 2018 was the last year where “formal accusations” of sexual assaults were updated on-line. Of the 374 formal accusations made in 2018, 87.17 percent were dismissed that year. Twenty-nine were still pending investigation.⁹
The wording “formal accusation” raises questions. Are informal accusations made, and how are they handled? What does a detainee need to do to make a formal accusation? Is a formal accusation the same as a complaint?
Over 33,000 complaints of sexual assault or physical abuse were made to the Office of the Inspector General between January 2010 and July 2016. “The Inspector General investigated less than one percent of these cases” according to a Custom and Border Protection report.¹⁰
Sadly, children who had been separated from parents or who had entered the country alone reported 4,556 sexual abuse or harassment allegations between 2014 and 2018. The minors accused adult staff of harassment, fondling and kissing, watching them as they showered, and assault and rape, according to a “New York Times” article.¹¹
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (O.R.R.) who received the reports, considered 1,003 the most serious and referred them to the Justice Department. Of these 1,003, 178 alleged sexual assault by adult staff members. The rest involved minors. The acting director of O.R.R. stated that the allegations were fully investigated, remedial action was taken, and that none involved O.R.R. federal staff.¹²
This video reveals a wide-spread tolerance of abuse of detainees, as reported by NBC News, San Diego.¹³
“We must send a message across the world that there is no disgrace in being a survivor of sexual violence — the shame is on the aggressor”— Angelina Jolie
In ordinary circumstances, many people do not report sexual assault because of the trauma and shame that can persist after an assault. In the year 2018, 25% of people in the general population of the US claiming rape or sexual assault did not make formal reports.¹⁴ If people in the general population are hesitant, then it’s not hard to imagine why detainees would be afraid.
Guards with inappropriate backgrounds were hired
Examples of documented complaints range from degrading harassment¹⁵, groping, touching of private parts,¹⁶ rape [by masked staff, woman bused to Mexico three hours after reporting, assault resulted in pregnancy],¹⁷ medical neglect in some cases leading to death,¹⁸ a pattern of sterilizations without consents,¹⁹ beatings,²⁰ combinations of neglect and abuse, and, what may be the most extreme case — knife body-carvings, strangulations, and the attempted burial of a living woman [courts ruled the US not liable].²¹
That ICE guards are raping and sexually assaulting detainees “can be directly attributed to” the hurried “hiring surges” that allowed guards with questionable backgrounds to be hired when a background check would have stopped their hiring, said James Tomsheck, Head of Custom and Border Patrol Internal Affairs (CBP) 2006–2014.²²
“I believe there’s a cultural problem at CBP”. — James James Tomsheck, Head of Internal Affairs, Custom and Border Protection²³
Mr. Tomsheck became a whistleblower. He saw alarming statistics of sexual misconduct among frontline agents. As a result, he expressed concern that increasing the number of border control agents could increase the amount of sexual assaults.²⁴
Respectful Suggestions
What can we do to help detainees alleging sexual assault, abuse, or neglect, and ultimately, to prevent the circumstances leading to conditions where these things occur?
Each person who plays a role with the migrants and refugees sees pieces of the puzzle but cannot see the big picture of the puzzle. The people who round up illegal immigrants with however minor violations, including veterans and “collaterals” who they find with them, the front-line guards in the detention centers, and the administrative judges, etc. all have a partial view, which reduces their accountability, according to “Immigration Nation.”²⁵ Though none of us can the entire picture,
I have seen enough.
The mind-set of the U.S. towards asylum seekers has gone from welcoming people exercising their right to request asylum, to treating them as objects, criminals, and worse in the U.S.; crimes against humanity have become the norm.
It is time to shift towards receiving migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, who have often endured traumas in their countries before entering the U.S., with justice and respect. The current system is out of control.
7 steps to reset immigration in America
- Consultation among an interdisciplinary team of experts in the fields of immigrant advocacy, cultural sensitivity, psychiatry, trauma, psychology, social work, child development, law, sexual assault, abuse and neglect, women’s rights, human rights, health, and public health, — for initiating policy change and integrating best practices.
- Review to make sure current border control guards/ICE staff have appropriate background checks. Removal of those with backgrounds with violence from working with detainees. Hiring to include psychological and bias testing and rigorous education and training;
- Dismissal of guards and staff who are complicit in neglect, abuse, and/or sexual assault of people detained as criminals;
- Assessments and interventions re suspected abuse, neglect and sexual assault to be done independently of government agencies in a manner advised by a consortium of Hispanex and human rights advocacy organizations with respect for the need for compassion and freedom from covert or overt intimidation;
- Immediate transfer of people who report sexual assault to safe houses /settings with freedom from repercussions of reporting, with the advisement of Hispanex advocacy organizations on culturally sensitive therapeutic counseling, and help and legal guidance determining next steps.
- Removal of camera blind spots in all detention centers spaces and rooms. Women staff conducting or being close witness to body checks of women; and
- Careful monitoring so that “whistle-blowers” are not penalized in any manner such as the reduction in shifts, demotion, or termination.
Using our voices
Feel free to use any of the suggestions above if you feel moved to contact justice-oriented professional, educational, faith, and political leaders and organizations in support of just and safe treatment of migrants and refugees. See contact info for Congress and the White House below. If you are willing to reach out to advocacy organizations in your local area or beyond to see what assistance is needed, there are links below.
“From every mountainside let freedom ring.”
Resources:
Trigger Resource: RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline 800–656-HOPE²⁶
Immigration Nation, Netflix²⁷
Contact Info:
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20500
The U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224–3121. They connect directly with the Senate office. You can reach your senator or representative through this link: Congressional Institute.
Organizations helping migrants, asylum seekers and refugees:²⁸
Angry Tias and Abuelas of the RGV
Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services
El Buen Samaritano Migrante Shelters (Sister Denise La Rock Go Fund Me)
Good Neighbor Settlement House
Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden
Hats for Asylum (MPP shelter for pregnant women along the border)
Lawyers For Good Government Project Corazon
Help asylum seekers with special needs who are stuck in Mexico
Sidewalk School for Asylum Seekers
Tahirih Justice Center, Houston
Advocacy Organization listed in articles (click on articles): Protecting Immigrant Families Partner Organizations [extensive lists], How to Donate to Help Migrant Children at the Border, 9 Organizations Helping Migrant Children that You Can Donate To, Organizations helping immigrants in Texas.
- Thanks to CR Mandler, MAT, Tree Langdon, CPA, CGA, and Steve Alexander. Thanks also to Sarah Towle of “The First Solution” who provided names of many of the organizations listed above.
