<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/ice-immigration-queer-trans-louisiana>
"Queer and trans immigrants at a detention facility in south Louisiana have
alleged that they faced sexual harassment and abuse, medical neglect and
coerced labor by staff at the facility, and that they were repeatedly ignored
or faced retaliation for speaking out.
In multiple legal complaints, immigrants detained at the South Louisiana Ice
Processing Center (SLIPC) in Basile, Louisiana, said they were recruited into
an unsanctioned work program that forced them to perform hard manual labor for
as little as $1 per day. Detainees also alleged that queer people were targeted
by an assistant warden who stalked, harassed and sexually assaulted them.
Three current and former detainees who spoke to the
Guardian said that,
between 2023 and 2025, they endured months of abuse from an assistant warden
named Manuel Reyes and his associates. In their complaints to the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the
detainees also said that they faced retaliation for reporting the abuse to
authorities, alleging that Reyes and other staff beat them and denied them
medical treatment.
“I was treated worse than an animal,” said Mario Garcia-Valenzuela, one of the
detainees. “We don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
Garcia-Valenzuela, a trans man detained at SLIPC, has alleged that, as part of
the unsanctioned work program, Reyes forced him to move heavy cabinets and
cinder blocks, and to clean using industrial-strength chemicals without gloves
or protective gear. When Garcia-Valenzuela complained of injuries from the work
program, he said, Reyes and his associates forcefully stripped him naked and
mocked him.
Kenia Campos-Flores, who is trans and non-binary, told the
Guardian that they
suffered from persistent migraines and chest pain after exposure to cleaning
chemicals they were made to use during unofficial, overnight work shifts.
Campos-Flores also alleged in a complaint they were persistently sexually
harassed by Reyes, who entered their dorm and stole possessions including their
boxers.
Another trans detainee, Monica Renteria-Gonzalez, complained that a stripper
chemical he was told to use to clean the facility floors seeped through his
fabric shoes and burned the skin of his feet. On more than one occasion, while
Renteria-Gonzalez was bent over cleaning, he said, Reyes came up from behind
and inappropriately touched him. The assistant warden also told
Renteria-Gonzalez he was watching the detainee through security cameras,
including while he was showering."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
