[Pnews] Tacoma - Immigrant hunger strikers threatened with force-feeding

[Prisoner News]

  Lawyer: Immigrant hunger strikers threatened with force-feeding

by Amel Ahmed <http://america.aljazeera.com/profiles/a/amel-ahmed.html> 
@amelscript <http://www.twitter.com/amelscript> March 11, 2014 6:36PM ET
*http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/11/immigrant-hungerstrikersthreatenedwithforcefeeding.html*


As strike enters sixth day, Washington state detainees report increased 
retaliation


Clara Flores-Aguilar is shown in this photo on Jan. 25, 2013, at the 
Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. Flores-Aguilar, a Honduras 
native, is seeking asylum in the United States after allegedly 
experiencing years of domestic violence.Associated Press

Immigrant detainees who started a hunger strike last Friday at Northwest 
Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., are reporting increased retaliation 
by guards --- including threats of force-feeding --- according to a 
lawyer backing the group.

As the hunger strike entered its sixth day Wednesday, attorney Sandy 
Restrepo told Al Jazeera that the detainees have vowed to continue 
<http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/8/hundreds-of-immigrationdetaineeslaunchhungerstrikeinwashington.html> their 
strike in the face of threats until adequate negotiations take place 
between strikers and the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE).

ICE denied that it was retaliating against the strikers.

The detainees are demanding safer working conditions, better treatment 
by guards, more sanitary food options, and for President Barack Obama to 
sign an executive order halting deportations 
<http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/3/long-elusive-immigrationreformfacesnarrowpathforward.html> until 
the U.S. immigration system is overhauled.

As of Tuesday evening, five strikers had been placed under medical 
observation. ICE said that one of the detainees had broken the fast 
Wednesday morning and was allowed to "return to the general population."

Maru Mora Villalpando, an immigration reform advocate and founder of 
Latino Advocacy, told Al Jazeera that her group is in contact with 
elected officials to push for "a monitored negotiation process to 
prevent further abuse by detention center officials."

Restrepo, who met with some of the hunger strikers on Tuesday, described 
guards as armed and dressed in riot gear. "Immigrants on hunger strike 
are being placed in solitary confinement, coerced into signing 
deportation forms, and threatened with forced-feeding 
<http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/15/hunger-strike-guantanamo.html> if 
they continue their protest. Asylum seekers are being threatened with 
denial of their cases," Restrepo said.

ICE rejected the allegations of retaliation. "There have been no 
punitive actions taken against individuals who are participating in the 
protest," ICE officials said in an emailed statement. "ICE fully 
respects the rights of all people to express their opinion without 
interference."

Although ICE did acknowledge that strikers were advised that they may be 
force-fed, it said that it was looking out for the strikers' well-being.

"Detainees are being advised of the health consequences of remaining on 
a hunger strike," the ICE statement said. "This includes the fact that 
going without food for a prolonged period of time could put their life 
in danger, and if that point is reached ICE may be forced to obtain a 
court order to force feed an individual."

Villalpando, who has communicated with some of the strikers, said that 
guards were also threatening strikers with deportation, and in some 
cases forcing them to sign consent forms authorizing immediate deportation.

In one case, she said that a detainee was dragged into a room before 
guards and told to end his strike or sign a form authorizing 
deportation. "When he refused to do either, one of the guards pulled his 
arm and forced his fingerprint," Villalpando said.

Strike leaders in particular, she said, are being targeted and placed in 
solitary confinement. "They are being told that they cannot rejoin the 
general population unless they end their hunger strike," she said.

While ICE confirmed reports that some strikers were separated from the 
general population, it said that the basis for its decision to do so was 
"medical observation."

The Washington state detainees are the latest to join a nationwide 
campaign to protest deportations, with similar actions recently taking 
place in Arizona, Illinois, California and Virginia. The coordinated 
protests represent a new strategy in the battle to halt deportations 
after a bipartisan immigration reform bill stalled in the 
Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Immigration activists have shifted their focus from Congress to Obama, 
demanding that he issue an executive order to end deportations until the 
immigration system is overhauled 
<http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/11/death-in-the-desertthedangeroustrekbetweenmexicoandarizona.html> for 
the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the 
United States.

Under Obama, U.S. deportations have hit record highs, immigration 
advocates point out.

"For us, this president has been the deporter-in-chief," said Janet 
Murguia, a former Obama ally and president of the National Council of La 
Raza, the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the United States. "Any day 
now, this administration will reach the 2 million mark for deportations. 
It is a staggering number that far outstrips any of his predecessors and 
leaves behind it a wake of devastation for families across America."

On Tuesday, family members of the Washington hunger-strikers attended 
solidarity rallies organized outside of the detention facility. Veronica 
Noriega, the wife of one of the hunger strike leaders, told Al Jazeera 
that her husband was placed in solitary confinement with three other 
strikers for his role in organizing the protest.

Noriega attended Tuesday's rally with her three children, ages 5, 11, 
and 13. She is currently working three jobs to make ends meet following 
her husband's detainment in September 2013, she said.

Restrepo said the government's inability to pass immigration reform is 
taking its worst toll on families. "These are fathers and mothers in 
there, people who will one day be eligible to stay under any new 
immigration law. There's no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to 
return to their families, to challenge their case from the outside," she 
told Al Jazeera.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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