More than 200 immigrant detainees launched a hunger strike Saturday at the Eloy Detention Center, an Arizona human-rights organization said — but ICE disputed the account.
The men sat down in the recreation yard at 9:45 a.m. and declared the strike, the advocacy group Puente Movement said, taking action for what they called brutal and inhumane conditions.
Their demands were said to include: an independent investigation into two recent deaths in Eloy; improved conditions, including adequate medical and mental-health care; access to legal resources and court hearings when requested, and an end to what they called exploitation of detainees’ work.
Jesús Deniz-Sahagun, 31, died on May 20 while in custody at Eloy, about 60 miles north of Tucson. The Mexican national was found unresponsive in his cell shortly after 6 p.m., Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The cause of death has not been released.
Deniz-Sahagun was the fourth detainee to die in ICE custody nationwide in fiscal year 2015, which ends Sept. 30.
“U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is committed to ensuring the welfare of those in custody,” the agency said Saturday in a written statement. “ICE managers and detention center staff communicate with detainees regularly and respect the right of people to express their opinions. ICE detainees are under continuous observation by center staff and medical personnel.
“At this time, no detainees have declared a hunger strike related to this protest,” the agency continued in the statement, released by public affairs officer Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe.
