ICE Kept 92 Immigrants Shackled On A Plane for Two Days

Source: Newsweek Magazine




ICE KEPT 92 IMMIGRANTS SHACKLED ON A PLANE FOR TWO DAYS IN 'SLAVE SHIP' CONDITIONS, ADVOCATES SAY

BY CARLOS BALLESTEROS ON 12/14/17 AT 9:48 AM

Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept 92 Somali immigrants chained on an airplane for 46 hours in "slave ship" conditions in a botched attempt to deport them back to Somalia earlier this month, detainees and advocates say.

The plane carrying the Somalis—chartered by ICE Air Operations Division—made a pit stop in Dakar, Senegal, 10 hours after taking off from Louisiana on Dec, 7. But the plane never made it to Mogadishu. Instead, after being parked on the tarmac for nearly a day, ICE turned around and made the 4,600-mile flight back to the United States on December 9.

According to one of the men on the plane and an attorney for two others interviewed by Newsweek, ICE deprived the Somalis of adequate food, water, and access to a working bathroom during their two-day detention onboard, forcing them to urinate in empty water bottles or, when they ran out of water bottles, on themselves.

The Somalis also claim that the plane's air conditioning system was dysfunctional, making it hard to breathe in the crowded cabin. One of the immigrants also says he and another Somali were hit in the face by ICE agents on board.

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/ice-deports-92-somalians-plane-human-rights-747557