Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and a group of immigration lawyers on Sunday sharply criticized the detention of asylum seekers being held in an Oregon federal prison.

The 123 individuals, who have been detained for escaping unsafe conditions in their countries and seeking refuge, are being held in a Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, where they've been since mid-May.

Wyden, who visited the facility Saturday with several immigration lawyers who weren't allowed to meet with detainees, was dismayed by the system in place to handle the asylum seekers, which he described as "sloppy at best."

"What I saw yesterday was almost as if the rules were just being made up as they went along," Wyden said at a press conference Sunday. "There weren't any clear procedures. There was no rhyme or reason."

Oregon's other senator, Jeff Merkley, visited the prison as well and was in Texas Sunday with several Democratic lawmakers to meet with U.S. border authorities and tour a facility holding asylum seekers. Wyden and Merkley took action against a backdrop of a national debate over the separation of families by immigration officials.

Contrasting Sunday's Father's Day celebrations, Wyden talked about the families that have been separated because of immigration crackdowns happening throughout the United States.

"I talked to a father whose 18-month daughter was essentially torn from him and he doesn't know where she is or how to be in contact with her," Wyden said.

Wyden said he would like to work with the Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to figure out a better way to handle this issue. He also plans to work with other Oregon representatives and the attorneys to draft a response to the situation for President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"Donald Trump's grotesque trampling on human rights must have zero place in America and in Oregon," Wyden said.

Wyden said he'd like a copy of the contract between the immigration enforcement agency and the Bureau of Prisons that "defines and allows ICE to put their detainees in federal prisons."

Chanpone Sinlapasai, the state pro bono coordinator for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, wanted to make it clear what it means to be seeking asylum.

"Asylum is when people at the border or in the United States are fleeing because they have been hurt, harmed or persecuted," Sinlapasai said. "They are fleeing because of the protective grounds that we established both in our federal laws and international law."

Sinlapasai said that holding asylum seekers in detention facilities is not the only option under federal and international law.

"We can parole these individuals to allow them to seek protections that due process requires and allows under our U.S. Constitution," Sinlapasai said.

Stephen Manning, executive director of Immigration Law Group, said he was happy to see the support that has come from people throughout the state to help the detainees.

"Within days of the announcement that there would be asylum-seeking men coming to this facility, more than 300 Oregonians have stepped up and we will be able to provide free lawyers for everyone detained in that facility," Manning said.

Manning said despite the help and support, attorneys are still having issues getting access to their clients.

"We have been told that we have one room, five days a week, three hours a day for 123 individuals," Manning said. "That math just does not work."

Most of the individuals have been in federal custody since mid-May, however, it is unclear whether they came with their families or if they sought asylum alone, Manning said. They also still haven't been able to contact their loved ones.

"There's not a lot of clarity on where families are now, there is a lack of information primarily because individuals have been denied their right to access of counsel," Manning said.

Aside from not receiving proper legal representation or ways to contact their families, Wyden said some of the individuals are being denied medical help, too.

"A gentleman described to me how he had been shot in the leg in the country he was fleeing, and as of yesterday, he still hadn't received medical attention," Wyden said.

Wyden pointed out that Oregon residents have offered to aid asylum seekers to provide help and support.

"We've got clergy members in this state that want to provide spiritual help and guidance," Wyden said. "We've got health care providers that want to provide medical care and we've got folks at the farmers' market who are raising money in order to facilitate phone calls."

Mat dos Santos, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said the U.S. Constitution provides protection to everyone, regardless of citizenship.

"What the Trump administration is doing is accomplishing what other governments or local cartels and other evildoers have not been able to accomplish, which is to tear apart families, destroy and end lives," dos Santos said. "There can be no doubt that 123 of these men seeking asylum will go back to their countries and face persecution if not death."

-- Kaitlin Washburn

KWashburn@oregonian.com

503-221-8015