ICE detainees on hunger strike over poor conditions

A group of immigrants at a detention facility in Southern California launched a hunger strike this week to protest inhumane conditions, according to a coalition of immigrant rights groups.

- By RUBEN VIVES

At least 20 immigrants are taking part in the hunger strike at the Desert View Annex, next door to the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center, where previous hunger strikes have occurred and where four people have died since it reopened last year.

The annex has a bed capacity of 750 and is holding more than 400 detainees, according to state officials.

Defend Migrants Alliance of Southern California, a coalition of activists, labor unions and community organizations, announced the strike during a morning news conference.

The coalition said the strike began Tuesday and read a statement from the strikers, who demanded that Geo Group Inc., the owner and operator of the facility, remove mold, improve drinking water and provide timely medical care to people with chronic health conditions.

The protesters also alleged that food rations had been reduced at the facility, forcing them to purchase costly items at the commissary. The group said it would stop purchasing food as part of an economic boycott.

A spokesperson for Geo Group said in an email that its services are monitored by ICE and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure compliance with federal government detention standards.