America
Sikh asylum-seekers protest in Florida jail, nine released
Washington, Aug 12
Nine out of the 22 Sikh
asylum-seekers on a hunger strike in a Florida jail demanding to be
released while their asylum cases are evaluated have been set free,
media reported.
The nine were released on August 10 while the
remaining 13 were still under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
custody at the Broward Transitional Centre, according to the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"Things should never have reached
this extreme point," Latin Times newspaper quoted Shalini Agarwal,
Florida staff attorney at ACLU, as saying on Tuesday.
The 22 Sikh men were detained after arriving at the Texas border in May.
The
men began a hunger strike when they learned that they were denied a
bond hearing, that could have released them from custody and sent to
their family members in the US, until their asylum inquiry.
"ICE
needs to honour immigration enforcement priorities and use its
prosecutorial discretion to not detain asylum seekers without bond,
especially where they have demonstrated credible fear of persecution if
returned to their home countries," Agarwal said.
"Their granting
of bond to some of these men is an important step, but there are many
more detainees like them who should not be kept behind bars while their
asylum proceedings are underway," she said.
Some of the men may
have been subjected to forced feeding and solitary confinement, a letter
sent to ICE by the ACLU on August 6 said.