Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Kennedy, whose district includes Fall River, and 47 other House members are asking that Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf seek and release security footage of a disturbance between ICE detainees and the Bristol County Sheriff’s officials earlier this month.
Congressman Kennedy is making the request in conjunction with Rep. Joaquim Castro, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
“A recent altercation at the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center in Bristol County, Massachusetts highlights ongoing tensions in ICE detention and potentially excessive use of force amid the pandemic. We call on you to ensure all footage of this incident at Bristol County detention center is released publicly to help ascertain exactly what transpired,” the Members wrote. “In addition, in order to protect public health, we strongly urge ICE to immediately develop and execute a policy, with the concurrence of the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, to reassess each person in their custody, on an individual basis, to determine whether they pose a threat to public safety; any individuals not meeting that criteria should be released on recognizance, parole, or with some level of supervision before conditions further deteriorate.”
Last week Kennedy called for an independent investigation into the disturbance, which involved 10 ICE detainees, Sheriff Tom Hodgson, and other Corrections Officers. The Congressman seeks to determine whether any of the detainees were assaulted during the disturbance on May 1.
The Sheriff has proclaimed he and his officers followed protocol during the altercation and that the detainees caused over $25,000 in damage to the ICE detention center.
Comments are closed.