“These searches are particularly traumatizing for asylum seekers who have survived sexual assault and rape, and the strip searches undermine the healing these women need,” said Christina Fialho, general counsel at Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, in a written complaint to jail officials and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
One inmate was forced to lift their genitalia as officials mocked them and shined flashlights into their orifices. One detainee even attempted suicide after a humiliating search.
No individual should be subjected to degradation because of who they are - especially immigrants and asylum seekers who have already endured hardships and humiliation prior to arriving in the U.S.