[Report] According to ABC News, a new video obtained by the media has exposed the conditions of an “asylum center” for detained immigrants inside a federal building in New York City. The footage shows that there are more than ten individuals inside, some lying on the ground covered with blankets, while others sit on benches. The camera shows two toilets, separated from others only by waist-high partitions.
The video states, “Look at how they treat us; our current situation… like dogs here.” The narrator speaks Spanish in the video, saying, “American Dream. Immigration Office, Federal Plaza 26.”
ABC News reported that advocates for immigration rights warned that the detainees in this facility can only receive very little food and are in an unsanitary environment. The New York Immigrant Coalition stated that the video shows the facility being used as a “detention center” rather than an “asylum center,” thus it should be subject to congressional oversight.
According to the report, Congressman Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman last month attempted to enter the suspected area where detained immigrants were located within the federal building but were denied entry by the Department of Homeland Security. “The question is, why can’t we go in? What are they hiding?” Goldman said at the time. The Department of Homeland Security stated that the detainees were undergoing “temporary processing” before being transferred elsewhere.
The report also mentioned that New York State Representative Catalina Cruz described the video as “extremely angry” and expressed her surprise that the Department of Homeland Security had previously refused to allow lawmakers access to the area. “I mean, it was intentionally designed, it was deliberate. They didn’t want people to see what they were doing, they were violating human rights, making people feel hopeless, isolated, lonely, and fearful. That’s exactly what they wanted to achieve, and they succeeded,” Cruz said.
Since taking office in January this year, the Trump administration has pursued a tough policy of expelling illegal immigrants, including advocating for the deportation of those unable to return to their countries of origin to third countries for detention, leading to a series of legal disputes and litigation.