A group of migrants locked up in the Imperial Regional Detention Center filed a federal complaint alleging medical negligence, retaliatory use of solitary confinement, and civil rights violations. KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis talked to one of the men who decided to speak out.
Donald Varela Fernandez is one of the men who spoke out. He was held in the detention center from September 2021 to Sept. 13 of this year. But when Fernandez returned to the detention center, staff took away his instructions and placed him in solitary confinement — where he did not have enough room to do his exercises, according to the complaint.ICE did not respond to questions regarding the complaint. MTC issued a statement that did not directly address any of the allegations in the complaint but reaffirmed the company’s commitment to following best practices.
Thank you for this reporting JournoGoose. The situation sounds awful.