TOP STORY OF THE DAY: ICE inmates file suit against county
A lawsuit has been filed by four ICE-held inmates of the Clay County Jail, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, against Clay County and several local officials. The complaint was filed April 25 by a Chicago attorney.
The plaintiffs contend that federal funds were improperly diverted to county projects, while they suffered “grossly inadequate conditions.” Examples listed in the complaint include a county purchase of an $83,000 air conditioning system for the courthouse and employee raises and bonuses, as funds that were improperly used. County Commission members have previously mentioned these uses of ICE related profit and how they benefit the county.
Sanitary issues listed in the complaint include distribution of stained underwear with holes in it, for ICE inmates, and rare cleaning of the facility, with the result that “the Jail is filty,” according to the complaint.
“There is green and black mold on the walls of the shower that is slippery to the touch and that smells,” according to the complaint. “In some places, there is graffiti on the walls, including gang signs. There is also dirt
and mold on the walls and on tables.”
Deputies and others associated with the jail have clearly said that maintaining the needed number of skilled staff members is a problem right now, and counties in this region face the same problem.
In the complaint, multiple points are listed: that Clay County illegally profited in detention of plaintiffs and other ICE inmates; agreed to use federal payments only for care of ICE detainees, by signing the Federal Detention Agreement; used the Agreement as a Cash Cow, improperly using federal funds for unrelated county expenses; during fund diversion, ICE detainees suffered in “grossly inadequate conditions”; and maintained jail conditions that were “grossly inadequate” under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards. Other allegations were listed under standards for Environmental Health and Safety; Personal Hygiene; Food Service; Medical Care; Correspondence and Other Mail; Recreation; Religious Practices; and Telephone Access. Failed or near-fail inspections under review were also listed as concerns, in the complaint.
The plaintiffs are Cristhian Herrera Cardenas, Maribel Xirum, Javier Jaimes Jaimes and Baijebo Toe.
The lawsuit is filed against Clay County; the County Council and County Commission, both as entities and all officials individually, in each group, the Clay County Jail and Clay County Sheriff’s Office, as entities; Paul Harden, Clay County sheriff; Elizabeth Hughett, David Parker and Jase Glassburn, Clay County sergeants and ICE contract coordinators; Jennifer Flater, Clay County auditor; and Debra James, Clay County treasurer. Others named in the lawsuit are ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of DHS; Tae Johnson, Acting Director of ICE; Ricardo Wong, ICE deputy assistant director, Oversight Compliance and Acquisition Division; Monica Burke, ICE acting assistant director of Custody Management; Sylvie Renda, acting Field Office director of the ICE Chicago Field Office; and Travis Graham, Angelina Ramos and Virginia Sutter, ICE officers.