By Alessandra Jimena Soberanes
NEW ORLEANS, LA. —A coalition of immigrant rights organizations found severe abuses in immigration detention facilities across Louisiana, according to a report released last week.
The coalition, which includes Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, national ACLU, the ACLU of Louisiana, Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy, and the National Immigration Project, has called for an immediate and independent investigation into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office responsible for these facilities—the New Orleans ICE Field Office.
The report documents extensive maltreatment and substandard conditions in these facilities, raising urgent questions about compliance with both federal and international human rights standards.
Based on data from 59 onsite visits between 2022 and 2024, the report, said the coalition, reveals systemic issues within the detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the New Orleans ICE Field Office.
According to the findings, these facilities routinely fail to meet ICE’s minimal care standards and violate human rights laws.
“These individuals have fled persecution and violence only to be thrown in ‘civil’ detention and left to fend for themselves in an abusive, profit-driven, and manipulative system,” said Sarah Decker, staff attorney at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and one of the report’s primary authors.
The report cites examples of abuse, including the use of restrictive five-point shackles, prolonged solitary confinement, and substandard conditions like cockroach-infested food and lack of feminine hygiene products.
Detained individuals have reported severe mistreatment, including physical assault, sexual abuse, and the denial of essential medications for conditions such as epilepsy and diabetes, the report noted.
“For years, we have been on the ground in Louisiana’s detention facilities, many of which are in isolated rural areas, conducting Know Your Rights presentations and providing legal assistance,” said Andrew Perry, ACLU of Louisiana immigrant rights staff attorney, adding, “The conditions in these facilities are inhumane, as this report shows in heartbreaking detail.”
The state of Louisiana is a major hub for immigrant detention, second only to Texas, with over 6,000 individuals currently detained according to Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
The report maintains this number has surged in recent years, driven by changes in immigration policies and the expansion of private prison companies, which manage 98 percent of detainees in the state.
The state also hosts the only ICE jail in the U.S. directly connected to an airport, leading to the detention of individuals from across the country.
Matt Vogel, supervising attorney at the National Immigration Project, criticized the practices at these facilities, stating, “This report documents a long and haunting record of abuse and mistreatment at NOLA ICE jails, from substandard medical care to physical assault and the use of solitary confinement—a practice proven to lead to serious and lasting psychological damage.”
The report has prompted calls for the shutdown of these facilities to prevent further abuse.
Al Page, executive director of Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy, also emphasized the need for reform, charging, “Our clients describe a system built on neglect and designed to create profit for large corporations, where basic human rights are systematically ignored.”
Similarly, Sara Ajuli Louis-Ayo of the Southeast Dignity Not Detention Coalition, highlighted the profound injustice of the conditions, asserting, “People escape their homes, stripped of dignity and fleeing persecution, only to encounter more suffering in their search for safety.”
The new report is a continuation of concerns that have been raised about NOLA ICE jails for years, said the coalition, noting despite an unprecedented investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in 2021, systemic abuse and neglect persist.
