The report, entitled "In the Freezer: Abusive Conditions for Women and Children in US Immigration Holding Cells," was released on Wednesday and documents over 100 cases of immigrants being held beyond the three-day period recommended in CBP guidelines in frigid holding cells.
Undocumented families taken into custody by US immigration agents at or near the US-Mexico border are generally placed in holding cells for several hours to several days, and sometimes a week or more.
The immigrants were held without access to showers.
Women not only face cold, inhospitable holding cells, but also sexual harassment, according to a letter authored by 45 US Congressional representatives sent on Tuesday to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees national immigration enforcement.
The report has prompted concerns by immigrant rights activists and groups. When President Trump took office more than a year ago, these concerns were raised.
According to Washington Post report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 37,734 undocumented “noncriminal” immigrants in the 2017 fiscal year, more than double the amount in 2016. This category of people includes those facing charges and those with no criminal records at all.
The leap in arrests last year can almost certainly be traced back to a distinct shift in priorities laid out by the Trump administration shortly after the president came into office.
According to the International Organisation of Migration, 412 immigrants died in 2017, up from 392 in 2016.
