New Report Exposes Rampant Abuse In Louisiana ICE Detention Facilities

By ACLU Louisiana Photos: ACLU Louisiana NEW ORLEANS —A coalition of immigrants’ rights groups including Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the ACLU, the ACLU of Louisiana, Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy, and the National Immigration Project today released a new report documenting widespread abuse and inhumane treatment at nine immigration detention facilities across Louisiana. Given the scope and severity of these findings, the participating organizations call for an immediate and independent investigation into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office responsible for these abuses – the New Orleans ICE Field Office. The report cites qualitative and quantitative data collected during 59 onsite jail visits from 2022 to 2024, including information gathered during interviews with over 6,200 detained individuals and facility tours. The findings reveal that immigration detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the New Orleans ICE Field Office (NOLA ICE) routinely fail to comply with ICE’s own minimal standards of care, in addition to violating federal and international human rights law. The abuses documented range from the use of restrictive five-point shackles and prolonged solitary confinement to cockroach-infested food and lack of access to feminine hygiene products. Detained individuals also reported physical assault, sexual abuse, and denial of prescribed...