Three U.S. Congress members from California demanded an investigation into allegations that people detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center suffered retaliation for engaging in a hunger strike and for meeting with the lawmakers.
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Eleven days after the visit, one hunger-strike leader was deported to Belize, according to Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a nonprofit that represents him.
“It’s blatant retaliation, it’s obvious,” said Kyron Shakeel Swaso, 35, via a phone number with Belize’s country code. “Anybody that stands up to this administration becomes a target.
“That will not stop me from fighting for what is right,” he said by text. “I worry about my people who are still there.”
In a June 17 letter to Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security’s secretary, Reps. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena), Peter Aguilar (D-San Bernardino), and Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) demanded answers about Swaso’s deportation and about if the other two people they visited were treated differently, if ICE considers hunger strikes protected free speech, and if it can be ensured that detained people who speak to congressional members will not face retribution.
“Another day, another hoax about ICE,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “These sanctuary politicians need to stop with the smears. There is no hunger strike at Adelanto. No one is being abused. No one is being treated differently after a congressional visit. …
“For the record: During hunger strikes, ICE continues to provide three meals a day, delivered to the detained alien’s room, and an adequate supply of drinking water or other beverages. … (They) also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”
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On May 15, around 40 detained people launched a hunger strike inside Adelanto, some of them told the Southern California News Group. They were demanding, the group said, adequate food and prompt responses to medical requests, and for authorities to address a mold problem in the showers.
A few days later, an additional 20 people detained inside the Desert View Annex, an ICE facility next door, joined the hunger strike, activists said.
On June 1, the three U.S. representatives met with the three hunger-strike leaders to talk about conditions inside Adelanto and the strike.
One detainee shared a petition with Rep. Chu signed by 150 people detailing conditions they are allegedly forced to endure.
Two days later, several detainees told the Southern California News Group, all three men had been sent to solitary confinement.
A day after the Congress members visited, perhaps dozens of detainees were on lockdown for about 24 hours, four detainees said. They had no access to the commissary, showers, phones, or their medication, and limited access to water, several detained people said.
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