LGBT Detainees Specifically Targeted for Sexual Abuse and Denial of Care in the U.S.A.
Posted by Melanie Nathan, 01-09-2012,
WASHINGTON—Following repeated reports of sexual abuse in the immigration detention system by the Heartland Alliance, Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate and offer possible remedies to improve conditions at Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and those with which they contract.
According to government documents, nearly 200 allegations of abuse from detainees in detention facilities across the nation have been reported to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2007.
Many of these incidents have involved LGBT immigrants.
“The government has a moral responsibility to ensure the safety of any person under its charge,” said Rep. Quigley. “The pervasive and systematic abuse of detainees held in immigration detention facilities, especially gay and transgender individuals, is unconscionable and should be addressed at the highest level. I am confident that DHS and DOJ will work quickly to review this matter and do everything in the agencies power to prevent further instances of sexual abuse, essentially at the hands of the government.”
“The continued reports of sexual abuse against immigrants in ICE detention facilities are appalling,” said Rep. Polis. “Here we have people who are at their most vulnerable—many without access to any legal assistance—who are being preyed upon and assaulted. LGBT immigrants appear to be special targets for abuse in ICE facilities. I expect that GAO will conduct a thorough investigation and offer up solutions that will end this intolerable situation.”
In a letter to the GAO led by Quigley and Polis and signed by 28 other Members of Congress, it was urged that an investigation include facilities run by ICE, private facilities under contract with ICE to hold immigration detainees, and those public facilities (like county jails) also under contract with ICE.
Further, the letter requested GAO identify what steps DHS is taking to rectify the problem and suggest additional actions the Department should consider to ensure that sexual abuse does not continue to plague the immigration detention system.
Members signing the letter included: Zoe Lofgren (D-CA); Yvette Clarke (D-NY); Judy Chu (D-CA); Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL); Barbara Lee (D-CA); Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC); Charles Rangel (D-NY); Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL); Gwen Moore (D-WI); Michael Honda (D-CA); Janice Hahn (D-CA); José Serrano (D-NY); Bob Filner (D-CA); Loretta Sanchez (D-CA); Nydia Velazquez (D-NY); Carolyn Maloney (D-NY); Laura Richardson (D-CA); James Moran (D-VA); John Olver (D-MA); Steve Rothman (D-NJ); John Lewis (D-GA); Robert Brady (D-PA); Alcee Hastings (D-FL); Henry Waxman (D-CA); George Miller (D-CA); Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA); Pete Stark (D-CA); and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
The full text of the letter can be found below. It is also available here.
CALL TO ACTION: Thank your Congress member for signing this, by posting this article and notes on their FB Pages.
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Thanks for picking this up Mel. Hopefully Polis interest will now stir LGBT media interest :[
I have asked locals here in the USA to thank their representatives. I have also posted it to my RE Woolsey and other FB Pages so they can see the interest. Thanks Paul because its sad when the US writers have to be prompted by writers from the UK such as your good self. Mainstream could not be bothered!