Physical Abuse May Have Led Illegal Immigrants to Riot at Facility
The Immigration and Naturalization Service said Friday that the rioting by 300 illegal immigrants at a privately operated detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., June 18 was sparked by mismanagement and possible physical abuse by guards. As a result, the INS added, it is ending its contract with the firm that runs the facility.
Twenty illegal immigrants were injured in the melee when the detainees, shouting accusations of mistreatment, took over a building, demolished its interior and held two guards hostage for five hours before baton-wielding police broke through their barricades.
On Friday, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner released the results of an investigation that was started by a special INS team May 30 to look into persistent charges of abuse at Elizabeth.
That inquiry was later expanded to include the riot.
The investigative report concluded that middle-management officials of Esmor Correctional Services of Melville, N.Y., which operated the Elizabeth center, had failed to exercise control over guards, who were improperly trained or had not been investigated fully before being hired.
It cited “serious” allegations implicating some guards in physical abuse, theft of inmates’ property and harassment of female detainees.
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