By Jenese Harris
“Civil rights activists, attorneys and supporters of detainees gathered Friday on the footsteps of the federal courthouse in Jacksonville, calling for the Baker County Detention Center to be shut down over the alleged mistreatment of immigrants detained at the jail.
Andrea Jacoski, with Americans for Immigrant Justice, represents people detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Baker County Detention Center, Krome Processing Center and Glades County Detention Center. According to Jacoski, the detainees are not being given reasonable access to an attorney or reasonable conditions. In addition, Jacoski said, women are being treated in disturbing ways.
‘A 60-year-old woman was denied her privacy while using the restroom while being detained by the Baker County sheriff,’ Jacoski said. ‘Since then, many women have bravely stepped forward and reported officers taking photos of them in their undergarments, watching them shower and change clothes.’”