BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Biden administration terminated a contract of a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Bristol County, after alleged "unacceptable" conditions, officials reported.
“Allow me to state one foundational principle: We will not tolerate the mistreatment of individuals in civil immigration detention or substandard conditions of detention,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the announcement.
This order came after Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy found that detainees at C. Carlos Carreiro Immigrant Detention Center in North Dartmouth were treated with "substantial risk of serious injury or harm" by the sheriff's department.
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson released a statement defending the police department.
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"Shame on Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for putting his left-wing political agenda above public safety by ending the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement," he said. "This is nothing but a political hit job orchestrated by Sec. Mayorkas, the Biden administration and other anti-law enforcement groups to punish outspoken critics and advance their partisan agenda to score political points."
Massachusetts' all Democratic legislative delegation, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Reps. Richard Neal, James McGovern, William Keating, Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley, Seth Moulton, Lori Trahan and Jake Auchincloss, issued a joint statement on Thursday.
"We commend the Biden administration for its decision to formally terminate its immigration-detention agreements with the Bristol County Sheriff's Office. This is a just and humane step," they said in a statement. "An investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office found that the BCSO violated the civil rights of immigrants in its care and custody. These findings made clear that the BCSO should not be engaged in immigrant detention. Every person has the right to dignity, safety, and due process. This decision affirms that right, and is a victory for the detainees, families, lawyers, and advocates who have pushed for more accountability and more humane treatment by the BCSO."
Federal officials said that civil immigration detainees will be transferred to other facilities.
ICE will also prepare to discontinue Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga for alleged unnecessary procedures performed on women in the facility.
Mayor Joseph Curtatone backed the Biden administration in their decision to shut down the detention center.
WBZ NewsRadio's Tim Dunn (@ConsiderMeDunn) reports:
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Written by Edyn Jensen
(Photo: Tim Dunn/WBZ NewsRadio)