An immigration advocacy group is saying that detainees at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center were denied water and left in the sun for hours. ICE denied the charge after members of Puente Arizona protested outside ICE offices in Phoenix Monday.
The group claims the detainees were locked out of a detention center in Eloy after declaring a hunger strike in the wake a fellow inmate’s death. Francisca Porchas is the group’s organizing director. She said she watched the scene Saturday and believes ICE was acting in retaliation.
"If this is what we do while they’re looking, can you imagine what they’re doing while we’re not looking?" she said. "They made a very clear point on Saturday."
But an ICE press release disputes these events, saying the agency “respects the right of people to express their opinions.”
An ICE spokesperson not authorized to speak on the record said no hunger strike has been officially declared at the facility. The spokesperson said hunger strike claims are being orchestrated by an outside group, not the detainees.
