A Wednesday go to by two state lawmakers to a Nassau County jail the place ICE detainees are being held has pushed County Govt Bruce Blakeman to change sure insurance policies relating to their circumstances and raised alarm that some, together with these with no felony information, could also be held for longer than the 72-hour authorized holding interval.
At the moment, 14 individuals are being held within the East Meadow Jail facility, the place greater than 1,400 individuals detained by ICE throughout the New York Metropolis metropolitan space have been held within the county jail since February. For each detainee, the federal authorities pays Nassau County $195 per night time they’re held.
“We have entered into a comprehensive agreement because it makes for a safer county to allow ICE to use our jail cells, and we will continue to do that,” Blakeman mentioned at a press convention on Wednesday, July 23.
Bruce Blakeman speaks about state legislators visiting East Meadow Jail the place ICE detainees are being held in Nassau.Isabella Gallo
People detained by ICE are usually not supposed to be held in county jails or non-federal immigration detention amenities, however Nassau County opened its jail to ICE by way of an settlement. Suffolk had an identical settlement, however broke it after a lawsuit discovered the county violated state regulation and the Fourth Modification by detaining tons of of immigrants previous their launch dates on the request of ICE.
State Sen. Julia Salazar and state Meeting Member Michaelle Solages mentioned they have been initially denied entry once they arrived unannounced at 10 a.m. on July 23 to conduct a tour of East Meadow Jail, observe the ability’s circumstances, and converse with people detained by ICE being held within the county jail.
The 2 state legislators have been finally permitted to enter the ability as soon as the county’s authorized counsel reviewed their request. They have been accompanied inside by Nassau County officers and never permitted to herald their telephones or take photographs.
Blakeman mentioned the pair have been “delayed, not denied” entry as a result of the county didn’t have prior discover of their go to and wanted time to organize a safety element for his or her security and safety and the jail. He mentioned they have been accommodated inside 45 minutes of their arrival.
State regulation permits elected officers like Salazar and Solages to tour jail amenities at their pleasure. Salazar, who represents Brooklyn’s 18th District, is the chair of Crime Victims, Crime and Correction. She mentioned she has toured half of the state’s correctional amenities, together with unannounced visits at native jails.
She mentioned this was the primary time she had been denied entry at any level in her go to.
“They did not have the right to deny us access and I am glad that they eventually understood that and allowed us inside,” Salazar mentioned.
Salazar mentioned she and Solages didn’t observe “egregious” circumstances on the jail, however mentioned they spoke with people who had been held on the county facility for longer than the 72 hours which are permitted.
Blakeman mentioned he was not conscious that detainees have been being held for longer than 72 hours.
Salazar mentioned the cells didn’t seem crowded, and never all 50 of the designated single cells have been occupied. Blakeman mentioned cells solely held one particular person at a time.
Salazar mentioned she spoke with one particular person on the county jail: a Huntington enterprise proprietor from Guatemala who has resided within the space for about 20 years and was not convicted of a felony offense. She mentioned he was arrested on Sunday and dropped at the ability that very same day, but he’s nonetheless within the county jail three days later.
“I suspect, given that timeline, that he and other individuals here are being held longer than the legal limit,” Salazar mentioned.
Blakeman mentioned he couldn’t affirm or deny whether or not people who’ve solely dedicated a civil offense, like overstaying a visa, and never a felony one, have been being held within the ICE cells as a result of ICE doesn’t share that info with the county.
He appeared shocked to be taught that the Huntington enterprise proprietor was in jail with no felony background. Blakeman mentioned he would “look into” his case after the pair’s go to enlightened him to the person’s probably prolonged detention.
“They are in this country as people who should not be here. Therefore, we don’t know who they are,” Blakeman mentioned of these being detained. “The target is for people who are here illegally, who have committed a crime in New York state. That is the criteria that was presented to us by ICE, and we believe that they’re adhering to that criteria.”
However Salazar mentioned there are people being held at detention facilities who haven’t dedicated crimes, together with the Huntington enterprise proprietor.
Blakeman mentioned he believed that there must be a course of for many who have lived within the nation for an prolonged time frame, who are usually not criminals, and are gainfully employed to stay right here or get hold of authorized standing. However he mentioned he had no plans to change the county’s partnership with ICE or how ICE was detaining individuals.
Different circumstances noticed by the legislators included restricted entry to showers and restrictions on recreation, typically limiting their publicity to daylight and the outside.
Blakeman mentioned it was the county’s coverage to not permit ICE detainees to bathe throughout what he mentioned was a 72-hour most holding interval, including that he didn’t consider they have been “entitled” to 1.
Nonetheless, he mentioned that after the lawmakers’ go to, the coverage could be altered, and detainees could be permitted to bathe as soon as a day in the event that they requested it. He mentioned he thought this might make for more healthy circumstances for corrections officers and different prisoners.
Blakeman indicated that the coverage stopping ICE detainees from accessing the outside whereas they have been held within the jail wouldn’t change, as they weren’t allowed to combine with the jail’s normal inhabitants.
Salazar mentioned she was suspicious of the county’s conduct on Wednesday, saying it led her to consider they supposed to protect info or poor circumstances.
“We are left without any other rationale,” Salazar mentioned.
She mentioned that the county officers on the tour with them would “strictly limit” the communication they might have with detainees, which was executed by way of plexiglass. When she requested officers to see totally different elements of the ability, she mentioned it usually sparked a debate.
Blakeman denied that they have been rushed by way of the ability or that their entry was restricted.
Salazar has advocated for the state Legislature to move legal guidelines defending immigrants, together with the Dignity Not Detention Act, which might prohibit state and native governments from having contracts with federal immigration authorities.
“I think it’s unacceptable that people are being held, that our neighbors who have not been charged with a crime are being held in immigration detention right here in New York State,” Salazar mentioned. “We don’t need to be complicit in this.”
Solages, an Elmont-based lawmaker who’s of Haitian descent, mentioned it’s “heartbreaking” to anticipate ICE brokers detaining individuals inside her group.
“They’re not going after the criminals anymore,” Solages mentioned of ICE. “They’re going after the people who are doing right by this country, who are being a part of this fabric.”
