During the five-minute call to Pine Prairie Ice processing center, Cole said she heard between 10 and 15 shots. The US runs the largest immigration detention system in the world and there is a well-documented record of infections ballooning into outbreaks in such facilities. Two detainees in New Jersey Ice facilities and five employees at four facilities in Texas, Colorado and New Jersey have confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Ice. The Trump administration has massively expanded the use of immigration detention facilities, with hardline policies that have driven the detention population to record highs. At Ice’s South Louisiana center, a woman alleged she saw officers in hazmat suits feeding someone through a slot in a door, Cole said.

Source: The Guardian March 29, 2020 06:00 UTC