IMMIGRANT DETAINEE SUES INS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

About 18 months ago, 17 detainees in INS custody claimed they were beaten and physically abused while housed in a jail in north Florida.  One of them, Patrick Reed-Johnson, has now brought a lawsuit against the INS for violating his civil rights.  Specifically, he claims he was beaten, tortured with electrified riot shields, and then denied medical assistance.  He also claims that the INS knew guards were abusing detainees but did nothing to stop it. 

The INS has refused public comment on both the lawsuit and the original allegations of abuse, citing an investigation being conducted by the civil rights division of the Justice Department.  This investigation, according to human rights advocates, seems to be going nowhere.  According to a report by Amnesty International, only one detainee concerned, Reed-Johnson, was contacted for an interview.  This interview never occurred because he was deported. 

After the initial allegations, the INS removed the 34 detainees housed in the jail, and the INS is no longer using the facility.  While Reed-Johnson was in INS custody pending deportation for a criminal offense, many of those at the jail, some of whom suffered from the alleged abuse, were asylum seekers.

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