Attorneys from multiple firms have sent a letter of complaint to officials with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security alleging that the male guards at the for-profit Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas – one of many in the country that hold undocumented immigrants (mostly unaccompanied minors and mothers with children apprehended crossing the US-Mexico border illegally) – raped, groped, and sexually assaulted the women detainees as they awaited hearings on their deportation from the United States.

“We call for an immediate investigation into these serious allegations of sexual abuse and the immediate protection of all women and children forced to reside in the facility,” the letter, sent by the Mexican American Legal Defense And Educational Fund on behalf of all the immigrant advocacy groups, read.

The complaint has been launched on behalf of a huge number of women who have reported identical stories of sexual abuse that put in words the same horrible experience – that the guards, who call the detainees their girlfriends, rape them incessantly.

Shockingly, the male guards have open access to women detainees’ cells at this immigrant holding facility in Southern Texas and any time of the day or night, they can enter the cells and sexually assault them. Since it is next to impossible to get an inside glimpse of jails of this nature, the guards are more or less allowed to do whatever they want, including raping the hapless women, sometimes in front of children.

“It’s an environment of rape and harassment that forces us to perform sexual favors in exchange for basic necessities, which guards think are favors,” revealed some of the prisoners on the condition of anonymity.

The second-largest private prison corporation in the United States, Geo Group Inc. that runs this jail denies the allegations. “Accusations of alleged unlawful conduct are investigated thoroughly and if substantiated, appropriate action is taken,” the corporation said in an official statement.

“The Karnes County Residential Center provides a safe, clean, and family-friendly environment for mothers and children awaiting required processing by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency,” the Geo Group’s vice president of corporate relations, Pablo Paez, commented on the alleged assaults.

“The center provides high quality care, and our company strongly denies any allegations to the contrary,” he added, saying that Geo Group “has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse or assault and our facilities are maintained in accordance with applicable laws and policies”.

Despite these tall claims and justifications, the corporation has refused to deal with what prisoners claim are “for-profit rape center” and are doing absolutely nothing to stop any of these sexual attacks. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights can put an end to this, but even they haven’t batted an eyelid.

Raise your voice with Human Rights First, the University of Texas Law School’s Immigration Rights And Civil Rights Clinics, and the Mexican American Legal Defense And Educational Fund to demand that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights “stops ignoring sexual assault and rape at Karnes County Residential Center. Investigate immediately and commit to oversight.” You can sign the petition here

Sources:

http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/12/karnes-county-texas-residential-center/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/02/sex-immi

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