‘WE ARE WONDERING WHEN THIS NIGHTMARE WILL END’
I am a citizen of Mexico. My wife is a U.S. citizen. We have three young children who are also U.S. citizens. I am currently detained at the Corecivic-run Otay Mesa Detention Center.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been difficult to access basic necessities such as masks, hand sanitizer, etc. At one point around April 10 or 11, Corecivic would only provide us with a mask if we signed a document saying that Corecivic — the contractor running the facility for the federal government — was not responsible if we acquired the coronavirus. We did not sign and, in the end, Corecivic gave it to us without us signing the document.
On April 17, I and other detainees began a hunger strike, a peaceful protest. We sought release on humanitarian grounds, either through bond or parole, because this institution has not taken sufficient and necessary medical precautions to prevent the spread of infection. We want to go out and be safe with our families. We started the strike on the day that a detention center supervisor told us about the rise in the infection numbers.
A week before, we were told that 21 detainees and six officers were infected. By April 17, the center said that 35 detainees and 14 officers had been infected. Fear and worry showed on the faces of everyone, from the detainees to the officers.
On April 21, I had gone five days without eating. The supervisor came and threatened to put us in isolation and remove our access to our commissary accounts. Out of fear, some of the strikers including me decided to stop our hunger strike. Twelve people from our group decided to continue. Their access to their commissary accounts was taken away, and they were locked in their cells in isolation for 22 hours. All of this was done under the supervision of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
About a day later, staff members warned us that we would be moved to the M pod of the detention center. Many of the infected came out of the M pod. We told the staff members that we did not want to move, but they did not listen to us. A group of about 14 officers in riot gear armed with pepper spray entered our pod to force us out of our cells. In one cell, a man pleaded with officers, but they aggressively entered his cell and pepper-sprayed his face. His screams echoed throughout the pod.
I am in the M pod right now. I feel that we are being treated as if we are the worst of the worst. The jailers do not seem to care that we are human beings with families who we long to be reunited with. Many of us here compare the detention center to a concentration camp as we fear of not being able to get out of this place healthy and alive.
For the month of April, I received two disposable masks. I received the second one last week and have been reusing it for several days now.
In the M pod, there are about 90 of us here. I share my cell with another detainee. It is difficult to maintain six feet of separation in the cell. The same is true in the common areas outside of my cell because space is tight.
If anyone has symptoms of the infection like a sore throat or pain, he will be given water and salt or Tylenol. Then somebody will check after two days. If anyone gets sick, then he will have to wait until early morning the next day to sign in to see the medical staff. After several hours, the staff will check on him. But he will not be tested unless his condition worsens.
We are responsible for cleaning our own toilets and sink. We clean them once a day. Other detainees are assigned to clean the showers that are shared with all the people in the pod.
We do not eat healthy food here, not much fresh vegetables or fruits. For breakfast, we always have a ham sandwich, a packet of cookies, a bag of seeds and coffee. Dinner is also a sandwich but with a different kind of meat, and flavoring for water.
The number of people infected is rising. In the last count, we were told that 90 detainees and 25 officers are infected, so we continue to fear for our health and safety. We are wondering when this nightmare will end and we are placing our hope in God.