SACRAMENTO, the United States, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two former employees of a private contractor working with U.S. immigration authorities came forward with sworn statements alleging a culture of abuse and sexual harassment at a federal immigration facility in California, local media reported Tuesday.
The allegations added to a growing body of complaints about conditions and misconduct at immigration detention centers across the United States, where more than 65,000 people are currently being held, the highest number in the country's history.
Civil liberties advocates argue that oversight of these facilities has been weakened after the Trump administration cut funding to Department of Homeland Security offices responsible for civil rights monitoring.
Sandy Nogales and Jorge Zinzun, former employees of BI Incorporated, filed sworn declarations in Sacramento Superior Court describing what they called a toxic work environment, according to the report by The Sacramento Bee.
BI Incorporated is a private company that monitors immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement.
In a sworn statement, Nogales, a former BI Incorporated employee who spent eight years with the company and oversaw its Sacramento office, said that some case specialists came to view themselves as superior to the immigrants they were tasked with supervising. She singled out a staff member, Luis Ruiz, describing him as someone who exploited the very people he was meant to assist.
Zinzun said he was dismissed in December 2023 in retaliation for reporting Ruiz's hostile conduct to management. He said that from a neighboring office, he could hear Ruiz repeatedly shouting at, swearing at, and harshly reprimanding undocumented individuals.
The two former employees came forward after reading about a lawsuit filed in October by a 52-year-old undocumented woman who alleges that Ruiz sexually harassed her for 18 months. According to the lawsuit, Ruiz sent her explicit photographs and videos and made unwanted advances during her mandated meetings at the Sacramento ICE facility.
The Sacramento case reflects a broader pattern of abuse allegations at ICE facilities nationwide. Human rights organizations have revealed similar cases in some of the largest immigration centers in the country, including Fort Bliss in Texas and the California City Detention Facility. The American Civil Liberties Union has called on authorities to close the Fort Bliss facility and halt the rapid expansion of immigration detention. ■