Partial Ban Cuts Prison Strip-Searches
The practice of strip-searching inmates after they meet with their attorneys was banned Thursday by U.S. Bureau of Prison officials responsible for the Oakdale Federal Alien Detention Center in Louisiana.
On Wednesday, attorneys representing a group of Salvadorans held at the center had filed motions in Los Angeles federal court to fight the policy. They claimed that many Salvadorans facing deportation declined legal assistance because they were humiliated by the body cavity searches.
Carolyn Sabol, assistant regional counsel for the federal Bureau of Prisons, said the motions brought the problem to the attention of J. D. Williams, regional director of the bureau’s south-central region. She said strip-searches after visits by attorneys will no longer be required, but inmates will be continue to be strip-searched after social visits.
About 100 Salvadorans are among the 300 people in custody at the center, which is operated by the bureau for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
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