Allegations Surface About Treatment of ICE Detainees in Orange County

Attorneys are alleging abusive and racist treatment of detainees at an immigration detention center at the Orange County Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley, where some undocumented immigrants from New York City were moved in recent months after detention facilities closed New Jersey. 

The Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University’s School of Law filed complaints in recent weeks with the Department of Homeland Security and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, that centered on allegations regarding the treatment of a mentally disabled and cognitively impaired Mexican immigrant. The detainee, identified by his initials L.G.C., attempted suicide four times since being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last February for lacking legal documents. 

Despite his suicidal ideation and documented mental health issues, the lawyers said he has not been given the required mental health treatment. Instead, the complaints say, L.G.C. was put in solitary confinement, given improper doses of medication, and threatened by correctional officers (“If I saw you at the border I’d fucking blow off your head,” and, “You locked yourself up because you came to this country, so you don’t get water.”) 

Orange County Undersheriff Kennth T. Jones said all of the allegations would be investigated. “We will look into every element of [their] complaint, but I think this is always the case of advocates of this nature -- they go a bridge too far,” he said.

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