Immigration is one of many polarizing subjects across the country, including here in New Mexico. No matter which side of the topic a person comes down on, most people can agree that people held in ICE facilities awaiting a decision regarding deportation deserve to be treated well. This makes the latest news coming out of one particular ICE facility particularly disturbing. People claim that the guards are sexually abusing them in areas where there are no cameras.
One woman would rather go back to her native country than return to the facility. Another says that now that she has come forward, her treatment will only get worse. The guards tell the immigrants detained there that no one will believe their complaints, and that appears to be true since higher ups tend to ignore the complaints according to those in the facility.
Advocacy groups say this type of behavior goes on because it is assumed that the victims will be deported anyway. Another person in the El Paso, Texas, facility claims she and two others were raped and beaten prior to being deported. As it turns out, she is now pregnant and the timing lines up with her stay in the facility and her allegations.
Simply because those in immigration detention centers may not be in the country with the proper legal documentation or allegedly committed a crime that may warrant deportation, they do not deserve to be the victims of sexual abuse. They should have the same rights as anyone else and not incur the wrath of someone who does not value them as human beings. Those involved in that facility, a facility here in New Mexico or any other facility across the country should be held accountable for their actions.