He left Cameroon on foot and traveled to Nigeria, where he got on a plane and flew to Ecuador. However, if you'd like to you can join our free support group on Facebook by Im trying to stay positive because I dont want to go back to my country, E.O. When sending a detainee mail, you must include the last four digits of their Alien number, plus your name and address. One immigrant, Carlos Ramos Sanchez, filed a lawsuit last September claiming people in his section of a housing unit at the Adams County detention facility were recklessly or intentionally exposed to COVID-19 virus.. var cid = '1694929001'; By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. No firearms or weapons of any kind are permitted. Establish a system to ensure timely ICE responses to requests. You can't call a detainee at Adams County Detention Center. Have a news tip? Humanity is highly progressive in this country. A Cameroonian asylum seeker was sitting in a cell in the Adams County Correctional Center one Sunday afternoon in late September 2020 when he was approached by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. [emailprotected] CoreCivic officials denied the allegations from the October 2020 complaint in an interview with the Natchez Democrat last fall. No keys (keys will be stored in the front lobby in an assigned locker). All visits are contact visits (except for detainees who are in administrative segregation) and may last up to 30 minutes. The report says 128 detainees tested positive for the coronavirus. Support this work and start a recurring donation today to help us continue important work like this story. I never knew about this inhuman treatment happening here in the USA. I havent gotten a response to my report. var slotId = 'div-gpt-ad-prisoninsight_com-box-4-0'; lo.observe(document.getElementById(slotId + '-asloaded'), { attributes: true }); Visitors may bring $20 maximum (in increments of $5, $1 and/or quarters) per person for the visitation vending machines. More than 3,000 people have died and more than half a million people have been forced to flee their homes during the violent conflict, which intensified greatly in late 2019. ins.id = slotId + '-asloaded'; said. said. Today, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi are calling on President Joe Bidens administration to shut down 39 ICE detention facilitiesincluding the Adams County Detention Center east of Natchez. The Mississippi Free Press is nonprofit, solutions-driven journalismfor Mississippians and others who care about the state.

Clergy are allowed to visit detainees housed at Adams County Detention Center at any time. Visitors are not allowed to carry any items into the visiting area or pass any items to detainees. Ensure Adams provides detainees in segregation access to laundry, legal materials, mail, required recreation time outside their cells, the commissary (for those in administrative segregation), ICE request formsand secure drop-boxes. Consular Visits You can send money to a detainee at Adams County Detention Center by mailing a money order or cashier's check directly to the detainee. Please note that by checking the box below, you understand we will be contacting you via email to better understand how we can help you and where our data will be used. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, on Twitteror at 601-215-4292. splashed toilet water in his eyes. All visitors (adults and minors) are subject to a pat-down search of their person, an inspection of their belongings, and a metal scan search. var slotId = 'div-gpt-ad-prisoninsight_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'; The facility provideseach detainee with two reusable cloth masks and mandatesthey must be worn, but surveillance footage from December 2020 to January 2021 revealedsome detainees did not wear masks or practice social distancing while in a group. No shirts that are low cut or revealing, including tank tops or halter tops. Before sending packages to detainees, contact the facility mail clerk at: (601) 304-2520if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'prisoninsight_com-leader-1','ezslot_3',136,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-prisoninsight_com-leader-1-0')}; Detainees who are being removed from the United States are allowed one small piece of luggage. Brittany formerly served as Mississippi Today's inaugural Emerging Reporters Fellow. } All rights reserved. ins.style.height = container.attributes.ezah.value + 'px'; Those decisions are solely made by our government partners.. Address: Recommendations by the Office of Inspector General for improvements to the facilityincluded, among other things, developing emergency care guidelines, documenting patient treatment during sick call encounters, meeting ICE's COVID-19 guidelines andestablishing a system to ensure detainee requests are met in a timely manner. C.A., an English-speaker, said he fled Cameroon and came to the United States to save his life. Please be sure to share this website with others so that we can spread the word and help to maintain rights for current and former inmates. Were listening closely to our readers to help us continue to align our work with the needs and priorities of people from all across Mississippi. Many others were brought to the United States as children and have lived here for decades. In the event of an emergency, please contact the facility Chaplain (601) 304-2500. If you have any information about this or any other institutions, we urge you to leave a review on our website. The facilities it singled out each meet one or more of those criteria, the ACLU said. lo.observe(document.getElementById(slotId + '-asloaded'), { attributes: true }); Consular officials are allowed to meet with their detained nationals at any time. Office of Inspector General investigators assigned to the Department of Homeland Security discovered the violations duringunannounced remote inspections of Adams County Correctional Facility from January to February 2021. More:Detainees allege abuse, torture at Mississippi ICE detention center, The reportprovided seven recommendations for staff at the ICEfacility. He pressed my neck into the floor. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General did not confirm or deny an ongoing investigation into the Adams County Correctional Center or the New Orleans ICE Field Office as a matter of policy, Tanya Aldridge, a spokesperson, told Mississippi Today in an email. However, a detainee may receive items that are considered necessary for travel or release from agency custody with approval of the ICE Deportation Officer. He also talked in grim terms about his future if he were to be deported. I told him, with all due respect, I have attorneys working my case. Wake Up and Choose: Reflections on George Floyd and the Reconciliation of America, MSDH Restarts Johnson & Johnson Shots, Addresses Vaccine Demand and Access, Black Women, Systemic Barriers and COVID-19 Project, A Letter From an 18-Year-Old Mississippian: My Life After Roe, Rep. Michael Guest Pushes National Six-Week Abortion Ban With No Rape Exceptions, Rep. Bennie Thompson Has COVID-19, January 6th Hearings Continuing. Three of the men in the complaint C.A., E.O., and B.J. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not comment on specific matters presented to the Office of the Inspector General, which provides independent oversight and accountability within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Sarah Loicano, an ICE public affairs officer, told Mississippi Today in an email. Detainees at Adams County recently filed civil rights complaints detailing a pattern of excessive force and physical abuse by ICE agents and facility staff, use of coercion to get Cameroonian detainees to sign travel documents for deportations, and torture, the ACLU said in a letter today to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, a Biden appointee. In May, several immigrants rights groups from Mississippi and Louisiana filed a civil rights and liberties complaint against the Adams County Detention Center, claiming the facility was endangering detainees' lives by ignoring COVID-19 safety protocols.. Some people passed by and kind of like hurt us, the migrants, he said. Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people. that it was a deportation document. } There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. ins.dataset.adClient = pid; We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. A fourth man quoted in this story is out on bond and is not named because he fears deportation and retaliation from immigration officials. Get details about visiting this facility, sending mail, telephone and more. said. There are designated visitor parking spaces on the West end of the parking lot near the Administration Building. ins.style.height = container.attributes.ezah.value + 'px'; FOCUS: Abortion JFP Acquisition 2022 Elections LGBTQ MedicaidImmigration COVID-19 Race & Racism Food Security Voting Policing Prisons. var ffid = 1; He crossed the border into Mexico, where he said he was detained for about four months and released after the intervention of a nonprofit lawyer.

Its time to see that promise fulfilled and Adams County shut down for good.. The officers strangled me almost to the point of death, the Freedom for Immigrants advocacy organization and the Southern Poverty Law Center. On Sept. 27, three of the detainees assaulted CoreCivic staff, and they were subdued. container.appendChild(ins); It was like hell to me, B.J. var container = document.getElementById(slotId); I want out of here.. including screening, social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting practices, and the use of PPE. I said, Please, I cant breathe, D.F. Adams County Detention Center20 Hobo Fork RdNatchez, MS 39120United States, Driving Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/cFQAu1M38Wt2TZ1t5, Facility Main Phone: (601) 304-2588Field Office Main Phone: (504) 599-7800Immigration Court: 1-800-898-7180Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA): (703) 605-1007, Adams County Detention Center Detainee Name, Alien number PO Box 1600 Washington, MS 39190. , but it does not end all federal or state contracts with private prisons. He told Mississippi Today that although he never experienced any violence or harm from ICE agents in the Adams County Correctional Center, he had heard about the other Cameroonian immigrants who were allegedly tortured. When the detained Cameroonian immigrants refused to sign travel documents without first speaking to their attorneys out of fear of deportation, the retaliation began, the complaint said. Your donation will be made through the Community Foundation for Mississippi, our fiscal agent. The message should include the detainee's full name, their alien registration number, and a telephone number where you can be reached. When you call, have the detainee's information ready, including the detainee's full name (first, last, and hyphenated), any known aliases, their date of birth, and their country of birth. Before I knew it, my fingers were broken in one of my hands.. Thank you for visiting us to better understand how inmates are treated while incarcerated at this institution. As a Democratic candidate, Biden harshly criticized Trump for the practice and for placing thousands of immigrant children, including infants, in crowded facilities for months on end.

Box 933488 Atlanta, GA 31193-3488. To prevent the spread of the virus, in 2020 the facilityrestricted or suspended certain activities like in-person social visitation and library services, among other things. Sorry, there are no insights for this section of the facility yet. window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId, 'adsensetype', 1); var pid = 'ca-pub-9082051305962437'; window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId, 'adsensetype', 1); Click the Support button below or at the very top of the site. Detainees at Adams County Detention Center are not allowed to receive care packages. SPLC and other immigrant rights organizations submitted another Civil Rights and Civil Liberties complaint on Nov. 5, 2020 a month after the complaint about Adams County Correctional Center was submitted about the alleged use of force by ICE agents against detained Cameroonian immigrants in the Jackson Parish Correctional Facility in Louisiana. var asau = '5319548474'; B.J., the immigrant whose real name was withheld, claimed in his October 2020 statement that he signaled his distress as an officer allegedly strangled him. When I got into this country, I knew I could be protected because I know, from what Ive learned, that this country is one of the best countries in the world, C.A. said in the complaint. var pid = 'ca-pub-9082051305962437'; CoreCivic, the private prison company that owns the Adams facility and contracts with ICE, Biden signed an executive order in January that will, phase out the U.S. Department of Justices use of contracts with private prisons. The detention facility is in the process of resolvingthe last two:. They continued to torture me in Zulu. As a result of the physical violence, they were able to forcibly obtain my fingerprint on the document, the Freedom for Immigrants advocacy organization and the Southern Poverty Law Center cited him saying in the complaint more than a week after the alleged incident. The following information is provided in accordance with PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003). ins.dataset.adClient = pid; Four ICE detention facilities in Louisiana also meet those criteria, the ACLU said, including ones that have held detained immigrants from Mississippi, including some of the 680 immigrants whom federal agents swept up in the 2019 ICE raids on poultry plants. An investigation by the U.S. Office of Inspector General ata Natchez federal detention center for immigrants found violations of standards thatthreatened the health, safety and rights of detainees.. The processing officer will put the money into the detainee's account and issue a receipt. are permitted in the secure areas of the Adams County Detention Center. Editors note: Charles Overby, a Mississippi Today board member and donor, serves on the CoreCivic board of directors. , bringing the total number of confirmed cases there since the pandemic arrived last year to 368. warning that the facilities conditions risked outbreaks and death last year, as the coronavirus first arrived in the state. As of March 2021, the restrictions remained in place, the report stated. At least 323 detainees have contracted COVID-19; there is currently a COVID-19 outbreak of over 188 people at the facility, the organization said. Make sure the sender's first and last name and return address is on the envelope. Each of the detainees was seen by medical personnel after the incident.. Adams County is no exception, ACLU of Mississippi SMART Justice Advocate Delana Tavakol said in a statement today. Payments must be made payable to U.S. The Southern Poverty Law Center, Freedom for Immigrants, the Natchez Network and other immigrant rights organizations submitted the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties complaint on Oct. 7 to ICE, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the DHS Office of Inspector General. B.J., one of the immigrants included in the complaint against the Adams County Correctional Center, told Mississippi Today that once he fled Cameroon, he never thought he would experience detention and torture in the United States. The officers strangled me almost to the point of death, the Freedom for Immigrants advocacy organization and the Southern Poverty Law Center complaint cited B.J. Follow on Twitter @ashtonpittman. He alleged earlier incidents, too, including one the day after the U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial in February 2020. His journey to Natchez spanned several months and thousands of miles. They just sent me to the jail and begin torture by ICE. Visit www.westernunion.com/corrections or call phone quick collect at 1-800-634-3422.

If you are interested in a career with CoreCivic/US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and would like more information about job openings at Adams County Detention Center, click here. container.style.width = '100%'; When C.A. So I was shocked at not receiving it. For a list of ICE ERO bond acceptance offices nearest you or for bond information, click here. Many people detained in Adams County are fleeing persecution. window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId, 'stat_source_id', 44); remain in ICE custody at the Adams County Correctional Center. Dress Codeif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[970,250],'prisoninsight_com-banner-1','ezslot_4',134,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position != 'undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-prisoninsight_com-banner-1-0')}; The following clothing is prohibited in the visiting room at Adams County Detention Center: Attorney visitation hours are the same as other visitation hours. 615-263-3000, Fax: Please take a few minutes to tell us whats on your mind by clicking the button below. by Brittany Brown, Mississippi Today December 22, 2020, This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. If you refuse to cooperate, you will not be allowed to visit. } Brittany Brown was Mississippi Todays Justice Reporter, covering the states justice system with an eye for racial justice and inequity. With your help, we can do even more important stories like this one.

When asked for comment by Mississippi Today, ICE did not offer any specifics about the allegations in the complaint. var cid = '1694929001'; var lo = new MutationObserver(window.ezaslEvent); Shawn Gillis was named warden at Adams County Correctional Center in November 2018. ins.dataset.adSlot = asau; To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). I made a call to report his behavior with the DHS. Ensure Adams meets ICEs COVID-19 requirements for wearing masks and social distancing. You know, ICE is disappearing key witnesses.. When an ICE agent returned to D.F. When the men refused, they claimed, the agents took them to a dorm called Zulu. ins.style.display = 'block'; Mail the cashier's check or money order to:CCA Detainee Trust Detainee Last Name,First Name / Detainee CCA Commissary #Facility: ADAMS P.O. (The ICE agent) said hes doing his job, and he is supposed to make sure I sign because my plane has been scheduled, C.A. Since those allegations, COVID-19 has spread in the facility, the ACLU of Mississippi said in its statement earlier today. I fled Cameroon because of a genocide that is going on, the man told Mississippi Today. I dont know why theyre doing that to us.. 615-263-3140, Fax (for employment verification only): All consular officials should bring appropriate credentials. By listening more intently and understanding the people who make up Mississippis communities, our reporters put a human face on how policy affects everyday Mississippians. said in the complaint. The allegations contained in SPLCs October 7 letter are completely false, Ryan Gustin, CoreCivic manager of public affairs, told Mississippi Today in an email. 2022 www.clarionledger.com. The administration has already implemented some reforms, including ending the practice of separating detained immigrant families. All adult visitors must have a valid photo ID to enter the facility. Immigrants rights groups, attorneys and family members began warning that the facilities conditions risked outbreaks and death last year as the coronavirus first arrived in the state. The immigrant man was doing so, he later told attorneys in a statement last fall, because he was trying to wash his eyes after officers at the Adams County Detention Center sprayed him with pepper spray. Find procedures and guidelines for sending money to someone in our care. He was soon transported to the Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, and after about five months in ICE custody, he was released on bond from the ICE detention facility this fall. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. The report said the facility needed to improve its COVID-19 response through better enforcement of mask wearing and practicing social distancing. I cant go ahead signing any paper without the counsel of my attorney.. Do not send cash. D.F. We thank you for reading and ask for your financial support. Why were they deported? I didnt even know what was on the paper, the man, identified in legal documents as C.A., told Mississippi Today in a telephone interview. Arrangements must be made in advance through the chaplain's office by calling (601) 304-2525. 'A stain on our country':ICE efforts to stop COVID-19 spread fail to protect immigrant detainees from virus. Only religious head coverings may be worn. The detainee who died requested medical attention for pain in his chest and arms on Dec. 17, 2020.He was taken to the medical unit where he was examined, but later released.While waiting to return to his cell, the man collapsed.Medical staff and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead. var ins = document.createElement('ins'); When possible, arrangements should be made with the ICE Supervisory Deportation Officer in advance by calling (601) 304-3002. ins.style.minWidth = container.attributes.ezaw.value + 'px'; Award-winning reporter Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Once he was released in Panama, he continued his travels north by catching a bus through Costa Rica and traveled by foot through Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. Ensure Adams reviews classification determinations, documents detainee special vulnerabilitiesand documents language used to conduct detainee interviews. For media inquiries, please contact the Public Affairs team at PublicAffairs@CoreCivic.com. (AP Photos/The Natchez Democrat, Lauren Wood), submitted the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties complaint, Congress hears about plight of Black Delta farmers featured in Mississippi Today investigation, Inside Mississippis false promise of putting the Family First, submitted another Civil Rights and Civil Liberties complaint, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110 Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937). CoreCivic officials denied the allegations from the October 2020 complaint, in an interview with the Natchez Democrat last fall, By this afternoon, though, ICE was reporting 232 confirmed cases currently under isolation or monitoring. Please arrive at least 30 minutes in advance of the scheduled visiting time to allow time to process through security. 615-242-5826. We carefully verified the identities of three men currently in ICE custody and agreed to identify them using their initials the same way they are identified in federal documents. if(typeof window.adsenseNoUnit == 'undefined'){ CoreCivic, the private prison company that owns the Adams facility and contracts with ICE, has denied the allegations of violence. E.O., another man listed in the federal complaint, has been in the U.S. since November 2019 and has been in Adams County Correctional Center since January 2020. Under Trump, there have been horrifying scenes at the border of kids being kept in cages, tear-gassing asylum seekers, ripping children from their mothers arms actions that subvert American values and erode our ability to lead on the global stage, Biden wrote in a June 2019 op-ed in The Miami Herald. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 125 S. Congress Street #1324A Biden signed an executive order in January that will phase out the U.S. Department of Justices use of contracts with private prisons, but it does not end all federal or state contracts with private prisons.

After confirming by checking the box below and inputting your email address, please press "submit" and then click on "View Insights" for the area you'd like to reveal. By this afternoon, though, ICE was reporting 232 confirmed cases currently under isolation or monitoring on its official website, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there since the pandemic arrived last year to 368. refused to sign the document, violence ensued, he said. For years, immigration detention has been used to incarcerated individuals guilty of nothing but the search for a safe place to call home. President Biden has already initiated an end to private prisons. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Gillis worked as a correctional officer at the Georgia Department of Corrections. Another Cameroonian asylum seeker, previously detained at the Adams County Correctional Facility and currently out on bond, told Mississippi Today he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Arizona after a yearlong journey.

Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. I tried to wash my eyes with toilet water. Ensure the Adams medical unit develops emergency care guidelines, documents patient treatment during sick call encounters,and documents interpretation and medical care provided based on laboratory testing results. These reviews will allow us to approach the media to expose injustices at various institutions. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. Shoes must be worn at all times, but no thongs, slippers, or open-toe shoes. He served for five years in the U.S. Army. The agent asked the man to sign a document. The complaint alleges ICE officers and others at the Adams County Correctional Facility used torture against Cameroonian individuals in their custody in attempts to coerce them to sign immigration documents through pressure, threats and in several cases excessive use of force, the complaint said. There have also been reports of violence against detainees at other facilities within the New Orleans ICE Field Office, which oversees facilities and operations in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. B.J. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. } Phil Bryants unusual work with The Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. The Adams County Detention Center is an ICE detention center that houses both male and female detainees who are in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. For security reasons, no electronic devices (cell phones, electric razors, laptop computers, radios, etc.) We prefer Author Name, Mississippi Today in the byline.

You must have the last name of the detainee and their alien registration number before calling. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru. U.S. They did not even allow me to use the sink to wash out my eyes.. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. I kept telling him, I cant breathe. I almost died. that, in late September 2020, ICE officers took them to a medical facility and attempted to force them to sign deportation documents.