Detention Center Near JFK Closed
New York, NY —
A detention center near Kennedy Airport will no longer be used to hold immigration detainees. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman says it's too expensive to hold them in New York. WNYC's Marianne McCune reports.
REPORTER: Few in the immigration community are mourning the closure of the 200-bed Wackenhut Detention Center near JFK airport. Many of the detainees held there fled persecution in their home countries
At Wackenhut, asylum seekers were strip-searched, dressed in prison-like uniforms, and given minimal outdoor and visitor access. A spokesman says remaining detainees are being released on bond or parole, or moved to the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jerseya 300 bed facility that offers a less expensive contract.
Immigration attorneys are not thrilled about that move. They say the facility is no more humane, and they say their clients are being moved and their cases delayed without notification. Spokesman Manny Van Pelt says immigration officials never give advance notice of moves. The Elizabeth Detention Center has one of the lowest release rates in the country.
WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations
