In 3 Months, 3 Immigrants Have Died at a Private Detention Center in California – Mother Jones

Orit Ben -zer / Zuma Wire

A Honduran immigrant held in a detention center in difficulty in the High desert of California died Wednesday evening while he was in the care of immigration and customs application (ICE). Vincente Caceres-Maradiaga, 46, received treatment for several medical conditions while waiting for an immigration court to decide to deport it, according to an ice press release. He collapsed while he was playing football at the detention center and died while he was on his way to a local hospital.

The death of Caceres-Maradiaga is the last in a series of deaths among the prisoners detained at the Adelanto detention center, which is operated by the GEO group, the largest private prison company in the country. Three people detained in the establishment have died in the past three months, including Osmar Epifanio Gonzalez-Gadba, a 32-year-old Nicaraguay found in his cell on March 22, and Sergio Alonso Lopez, a Mexican man who died internal bleeding on April 13 after spending more than two months of guard.

Since its opening in 2011, Adelanto has faced insufficient accusations of medical care and bad conditions. In July 2015, 29 members of the Congress sent a letter to the ice and federal inspectors requesting an investigation into health and security problems in the establishment. They cited the death of Fernando de Fernando in 2012 in the establishment, claiming that it was the result of “blatant errors” by the center’s medical staff, who did not give him good medical examinations or allowed him to receive out -of -site treatment in a timely time. In November 2015, 400 prisoners began a hunger strike, demanding better medical and dental care as well as other reforms.

The federal government guarantees GEO that a minimum of 975 immigrants will be held in the establishment and will pay $ 111 per detainee per day.

However, last year, the city of Adelanto, acting as an intermediary between Ice and Geo, concluded an agreement to extend the company’s contract until 2021. The federal government guarantees GEO that a minimum of 975 immigrants will be held to the establishment and pay $ 111 per detainee per day, according to the senator of the State of California, Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) which led to the disappointment of Cur Curnardo. After this moment, the ice has only to pay $ 50 per detainee per day – an incentive to fill more beds.

Of the four centers of private immigration detention in California, three use local governments as intermediaries between ice companies and private prison companies. Tuesday, the California Senate voted 26-13 to ban these contracts, supporting a bill which could potentially close Adelanto when its contract is exhausted in 2021. The law on dignity and detention, written by Lara, would prevent local governments from reporting or prolonging contracts with private companies to hold immigrants from 2019. State prosecutors to hold operators of the detention center responsible for poor conditions within their installations.

An identical bill was adopted last year, but was opposed to his veto by Governor Jerry Brown. “I was disturbed by recent reports detailing unsatisfactory conditions and limited access to advice in private immigration detention facilities,” wrote Brown in his veto message last September. But he reproduced to the Ministry of Internal Security, which then examined his use of for -profit immigration detention. In this examination, the Advisory Council on internal security rejected the continuous use of private prison companies to hold immigrants, citing “the inferiority of the private prison model”. However, since President Donald Trump took office, the federal government has moved to extend private immigration detention, signing an agreement of $ 110 million with Geo in April to build the first new immigration detention center under Trump.

Nine people died in the custody of ice during the 2017 fiscal year, which started October 1st. Meanwhile, private prison actions have almost doubled in value since the election day.