Letters Follows Lawmakers’ Visit to Louisiana Facilities Where Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil are Being Held

Text of Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), along with Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Congressmen James P. McGovern (MA-02) and Troy A. Carter Sr. (LA-02), sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking more information on the detention conditions of immigrants held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center (CLIPC) and the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center (SLIPC) after an oversight trip to the facilities last month.

Both facilities have long faced allegations of inhumane treatment and poor detention conditions. During the visit, Members received allegations that detainees at the facilities have had miscarriages – and may not be receiving adequate maternal healthcare or proper cancer screenings. 

“During our oversight visit to the facilities, we observed troubling detention conditions and received significant allegations about mistreatment from detainees,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “We heard from women who felt lumps in their breasts but were not provided appropriate medical attention; witnessed a pregnant mother with medical risks and detention staff unprepared for the birth of a child; observed men and women suffering respiratory issues in unreasonably cold and humid dormitories; and saw young women shaking and crying in fear of retaliation if they were to speak to Members of Congress.”

Last month, the lawmakers traveled to ICE facilities in Basile and Jena, where Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil are being unlawfully detained and subjected to inhumane conditions in retaliation for their protected speech. Rep. Pressley, Senator Markey, and Rep. McGovern recounted their harrowing visit at a press conference in Boston.

“While at SLIPC, we received conflicting information from staff about detainees’ allegations. For example, we received deeply troubling information alleging that multiple women at SLIPC suffered from miscarriages while in custody—allegations staff denied,” the lawmakers continued in their letter. “Additionally, medical staff told us that during detainees’ menstrual periods, the facility provided as many menstrual products as requested, yet detainees consistently reported that facility employees regularly withheld not just menstrual products but also toilet paper.”

Yesterday, Pressley, Markey, and McGovern issued a statement applauding the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for directing the Trump Administration to comply with a lower court order to transfer Rümeysa Öztürk from ICE custody in Louisiana to Vermont. 

In a powerful New York Times op-ed, Pressley, Markey, and McGovern discussed their meeting with Ms. Öztürk in detention and warned the American people of the dangers posed by the Trump administration’s unlawful attacks on our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process. Full text of the op-ed is available here.

Rep. Pressley, along with Sens. Warren and Markey, have pushed for answers and action since Öztürk’s March arrest. In March, they led over 30 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, demanding information about Öztürk’s arrest and detention as well as similar incidents across the country.

In April, the lawmakers sounded the alarm on Öztürk’s medical neglect in DHS custody and renewed urgent calls for her release. Last week, Pressley, Warren and Markey demanded Secretary of State Rubio released any documents related to her arrest after a recent report indicated that an internal State Department memo concluded that the key premise underlying Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s arrest and detention was false. Last month, Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement condemning reports that ICE arrested and detained Rumeysa Ozturk, an international student with legal status in a graduate program at Tufts University. Earlier in the week, Rep. Pressley issued a statement following reports of ICE activity in Boston and other municipalities in Massachusetts.

###