"Slave Ship Conditions" for Somalis as Deportation Flight Sheds Light on
Horrific Practices Under Trump
Published on
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
by
Common Dreams
"Slave Ship Conditions" for Somalis as Deportation Flight Sheds Light on
Horrific Practices Under Trump
For nearly 48 hours, before a deportation flight bound for Somalia was
rerouted back to the U.S., 92 people on board were shackled and denied food,
water, and access to bathrooms
by
Julia Conley, staff writer
Immigrant rights groups have mounted a lawsuit against the U.S. government
after reports of "inhumane" conditions about a flight bound for Somalia,
carrying 92 passengers who were being deported. (Photo: David McNew/Getty
Images)
Attorneys for 92 Somali nationals who were held in "slave ship conditions"
for nearly 48 hours during a deportation flight, say that the group's
harrowing experience is indicative of immigration officials' procedures
under the Trump administration.
The passengers were denied food, water, and access to a bathroom, according
to a class-action lawsuit, filed by the Somalis with the help of four
immigrant rights groups including Americans for Immigrant Justice and the
Immigration Clinic at the University of Miami.
Their hands and feet were shackled during the first leg of the trip to
Dakar, Senegal on December 7, and while the plane sat on a tarmac there for
23 hours before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) decided to reroute
the flight back to the U.S. due to "logistical concerns."
"When the plane's toilets overfilled with human waste, some of the detainees
were left to urinate into bottles or on themselves," according to the
lawsuit. "ICE agents wrapped some who protested, or just stood up to ask a
question, in full-body restraints. ICE agents kicked, struck, or dragged
detainees down the aisle of the plane, and subjected some to verbal abuse
and threats."
"I think it's reflective of the Trump Administration's overall crackdown on
immigration as well as reflective of their attitude towards Somalia and
towards Muslims," said Kim Hunter, who represents two of the plaintiffs in
the case, in an interview with the Guardian.
In addition to drawing attention to the "inhumane conditions and egregious
abuse" the lawsuit alleges, immigrant rights advocates are urging the
government to reopen the passengers' deportation cases.
The U.S. has generally avoided removing people to Somalia in recent decades
in light of security concerns there. Al-Shabaab, an armed group with ties to
Al Qaeda, is active in the country and killed more than 500 people in a
truck bombing in October. Many of the deportees, who escaped as refugees
fleeing civil war, fear they could be targeted by the group if returned to
Somalia.
One plaintiff, named in the lawsuit as Musa, "believes news of this aborted
flight has reached the general Somali public. He believes that having been
on the December 7 flight jeopardizes his safety upon his return, and he
believes that al-Shabaab will kill him for being a Westernized Somali."
Some of the passengers were brought to the U.S. as children, and at least
one was detained after a routine check-in with immigration officials.
"This is now a disturbing pattern where ICE is targeting people who have
been living in the community for many years on these orders of supervision
and with work permits and suddenly they are snatched from their families and
communities," said Rebecca Sharpless, another attorney representing the
passengers. "It is not safe for these men and women to return, especially in
light of the escalation of terrorist violence in Somalia in the last weeks."
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While the Trump administration has insisted it's focusing its deportations
on those with criminal backgrounds, lawyers representing the Somalis say
about one-third of the passengers had no criminal record while others had
been convicted only of petty crimes like shoplifting.
"I'm not terribly convinced we're deporting the worst of worst," Hunter told
the Guardian.
The passengers are currently being held in a detention center outside Miami,
while their lawyers work to halt another attempt to deport them.
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