Sexual Abuse in Detention and Immigration Facilities

A new story chronicles multiple acts of sexual assault and abuse upon immigrants.  A 19-year-old asylum was confined to a family detention center and was sexually assaulted by a male guard. “I didn’t know how to refuse because he told me that I was going to be deported,” she said. “I was at a jail and he was a migration officer. It’s like they order you to do something and you have to do it.”

A video follows Maria and E.D., who are among the thousands of migrants who have said they were sexually abused while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the past 10 years, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General. Both were seeking asylum in the United States.  ICE has reported 1,310 claims of sexual abuse against detainees from fiscal years 2013 to 2017.

While undocumented status provides challenges, we review claims by those assaulted at no charge.