Immigrants’ Class Action Alleges Cruel Treatment at California Prison

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A group of detained immigrants have filed a class action lawsuit to protest allegedly cruel treatment at “Victorville,” a federal medium security prison in Victorville, California.

Plaintiffs Stephenson Awah Teneng, Marcel Ngwa, Ankush Kumar, Gurjinder Singh, Atinder Pual Singh, and Noe Mauricio Granados Quino claim that the Trump administration has violated the rights of more than 1,000 immigrants by detaining them in harsh and inhumane prison conditions at the Federal Correction Institution Medium II in Victorville,.

Allegedly, the immigrants and refugees at Victorville came to the United States to seek asylum, in accordance with the United State’s asylum and immigration laws.

They claim that though they committed no crime, nor had they been suspected or convicted of any crime, they were held in a federal prison under conditions that were inhumane and violated their rights. They also say they were subjected to conditions that were as bad or worse than those of convicted prisoners incarcerated at Victorville.

The immigrants aim to hold the Trump Administration accountable for their treatment at Victorville. They claim that the Trump Administration has violated the law in how it allows immigrants to be treated at Victorville, because the law “prohibits the government from subjecting this population to punitive incarceration.”

In support of this statement, the immigrants cite a statement by ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, that notes the difference between immigrants and prisoners, in their capacity as detainees of the federal government. ICE was the agency in charge of transferring the immigrants to Victorville, along with the Bureau of Prisons.

Allegedly, an ICE report stated that “the demeanor of the Immigration Detention population is distinct from the Criminal Incarceration population. The majority of the population [detained by ICE] is motivated by the desire for repatriation or relief, and [they] exercise exceptional restraint.”

In their Trump Administration immigration policy class action lawsuit, Teneng and others claim that the fact that they were held in a medium security prison goes against the stated understanding of ICE that immigrants have different motivations and characteristics than incarcerated prisoners. Additionally, the immigrants claim that at times, they were chained together, in violation of their freedom, in a manner as severe or more severe than the practices used on convicted prisoners.

Additionally, the Tenneng and the other immigrants of the ICE class action lawsuit claim that they were exposed to inhumane treatment at Victorville. Allegedly, they were denied medical care, including care for their mental and physical health, which caused them significant injury.

They also claim that they were given food and water that was insufficient, saying that the water at Victorville is known to be contaminated, and that many times, they were given spoiled food, or not enough food, causing them to be under-nourished.

Teneng and others go on to allege that they were denied religious liberties. They claim that the immigrants held at Victorville practiced a range of faiths, and were denied food that would adhere to religious diets, denied time and space to worship, and had clothing and religious garments confiscated. They say this practice was needless and violated their personal liberties.

Teneng and others seek relief in the form of release from Victorville, and an order “preliminarily and permanently” enjoining the Trump Administration from detaining and imprisoning immigrants at Victorville. Additionally, they seek relief for the injury they suffered at Victorville.

The immigrants are represented by Donald Specter, Corene T. Kendrick and Margot K. Medelson of the Prison Law Office.

The Trump Administration Victorville Immigration Class Action Lawsuit is Stephenson Awah Teneng et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., Case No. 5:18-cv-01609, in the U.S. District Court for the Central Division of California, Eastern Division – Riverside.