Russian man dies at San Diego ICE detention center, sixth detainee to die since October
In this Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014 photo, elementary aged children talk about a short story in Spanish during a class at the Karnes County Residential Center, a temporary home for immigrant women and children detained at the border in Karnes City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Igor Zyazin, 46, a Russian man detained at the Otay Detention Center in San Diego, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead on Sunday, April 2. Zyazin had been picked by ICE at the San Ysidro checkpoint on the Mexican border on April 24 and was being held pending an interview with officials to determine his status. He is the sixth detainee to die in ICE detention since October.
ACLU: Tuscon police are violating rights with prolonged traffic stops to check immigration status
The ACLU, after doing a public records review of traffic stops conducted by Tucson police, reports that many drivers have been held longer than necessary in order to check their immigration status. Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 law allows law enforcement to check the immigration status of drivers during traffic stops. But the ACLU alleges that the stops were prolonged while officers conducted the immigration checks, and also condemns the Border Patrol for participating in these prolonged stops. The civil rights organization has sent a letter to Tucson’s Chief of Police, Chris Magnus, calling for an end to prolonged stops and better training for officers. They also sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, calling for DHS to uphold the Obama administration’s promise of limiting federal government involvement in Arizona’s enforcement of SB 1070.
The Karnes County Residential Center, in Karnes City, Texas, has been granted a child care license by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The private detention facility, which houses undocumented mothers and and their children, may now avoid a federal court ruling ordering the release of mothers and children from facilities not equipped for child care. Immigration activists claim the license is just a way to get around the ruling and does not reflect any change in inhumane conditions for detainees, especially for children.