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The “almost complete secrecy” around deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard are raising “serious human rights concerns”, a group of 11 people democratic US senators wrote a letter to top immigration officials on Thursday.
US Sen. Chris Van Hollen Of maryland Called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide a full accounting of its aerial operations and stop using the black-and-yellow restraints, known as WRAP, until the agency explains its policies for the device and resolves other questions about its use on immigration detainees.
“I think it’s very problematic,” Van Hollen told The Associated Press. “They want to keep the public in the dark.”
The senators’ letter cites an AP investigation this month that revealed multiple instances of ICE using the devices on people — sometimes for hours — on deportation flights in 2020. Van Hollen had joined the US Sens. elizabeth warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and six others.
WRAP is the subject of several federal lawsuits, in which misuse of the device has been compared to punishment and even torture. Advocates have expressed concerns that ICE is not tracking the use of WRAP as required by federal law when officers use force, making it difficult to track how many people are actually being interdicted.
“When an organization like DHS doesn’t want transparency, it’s because they don’t want people to know what they’re doing,” Van Hollen said, referring to ICE’s parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In addition to the letter, U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., told the AP in a statement that she is working on a bill to rein in the agency’s use of WRAP.
“ICE’s use of full-body restraints to immobilize detained individuals raises serious concerns about the safety, dignity, and human rights of those within their jurisdiction,” Ramirez said.
DHS did not respond to detailed questions from the AP about the use of RAP. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin previously said that ICE’s practices “are consistent with practices adopted by other relevant authorities and are fully consistent with established legal standards.”
The AP found that DHS has paid WRAP’s maker, Safe Restraints Inc., $268,523 since it began purchasing the devices in late 2015 during the Obama administration. Government procurement records show the two Trump administrations are responsible for about 91% of that spending.
ICE would not provide AP with records documenting the use of WRAP despite multiple requests, and it is unclear how often it has been used in the current and prior administrations.
In addition to reporting on ICE’s use of the device, the AP identified a dozen fatal cases over the past decade where local police or jailers across the US used WRAP and autopsies determined that “restraint” played a role in the death.
“ICE’s cruel, inhumane tactics are putting people’s lives at risk across the country,” Ramirez said. “ICE is operating without oversight or accountability. This cannot go on.”
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Reported from Mustien Washington and New York and Dearen reported from Los Angeles.
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Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/.