Eloy, Arizona — Today, Detention Watch Network, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and Trans Queer Pueblo released an ‘Anthology of Abuse’ on the Eloy Detention Center (Eloy) in Eloy, Arizona. Eloy has gained notoriety as the "deadliest immigration detention center in the U.S.," with at least 16 reported deaths, including five suicides. The report calls for the release of people detained and the permanent closure of the facility immediately.
Opened in 1994, Eloy was designed to imprison people in criminal custody but has since evolved into one of the most controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in the United States with a current capacity to detain 1,550 people. From October 2022 to September 2024, the Florence Project filed 53 complaints to the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO). In a February 2024 submission, they detailed worsening conditions despite a recent investigation by CRCL. Their findings exposed significant issues, including poor medical care, unsanitary dining conditions, inadequate laundry services, frequent lockdowns, improper use of suicide watch and segregation, violations of privacy for women, and verbal and physical abuse by staff.
Eloy’s contract was set to expire in September 2024, offering an opportunity for ICE to close this notorious facility. However, instead of seizing this moment to end the cycle of abuse, ICE extended the services contract to June 30th, 2028 and continues to detain people at Eloy, disregarding the facility’s documented history of abuse and widespread community opposition. Immigrant justice advocates are clear – immediately release everyone currently detained at the facility and shut it down.
Contributors to the report provided the following statements:
Trans Queer Pueblo based in Phoenix, Arizona, said:
“Somos líderes trans y queer, personas previamente detenidas que sobrevivimos a los horrores de las cárceles migratorias de ICE. Trabajamos para la abolición de los sistemas que encarcela y deporta a nuestro pueblo, y luchamos por nuestra liberación y por nuestro derecho humano a migrar en nuestra propia tierras.”
Liz Casey, Integrated Social Services Social Worker at The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project based in Arizona, said:
"Over the past decade, we have documented and filed numerous complaints with oversight agencies regarding severe abuses at Eloy. These complaints document issues including severe medical deficiencies, abuse by guards, lack of legal access, violations of disability rights, and egregious use of segregation, particularly for individuals with serious mental illness. The tragic failures of medical care and oversight at Eloy Detention Center have exposed a disturbing pattern of negligence that has led to multiple preventable deaths. In no uncertain terms, the Eloy Detention Center must be shut down immediately."
Luis Suarez, Senior Field Advocacy Manager at Detention Watch Network, said:
“The damning trail of evidence shared in this report demonstrates that the only solution is to shut down the Eloy Detention Center, release the people inside, and stop using the facility to jail any population of people again.”
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