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People walk outside the U.S. Immigration Enforcement Processing Center operated by GEO Group Inc. in Adelanto, California. The company is facing lawsuits for allegedly using hazardous chemicals at its facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richard Vogel/AP
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Richard Vogel/AP
People walk outside the U.S. Immigration Enforcement Processing Center operated by GEO Group Inc. in Adelanto, California. The company is facing lawsuits for allegedly using hazardous chemicals at its facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richard Vogel/AP
A new lawsuit filed against GEO Group Inc., one of the largest for-profit prison operators in the United States, alleges that the company improperly used toxic chemicals to clean jails, causing inmates to Claims to be sick.
The Social Justice Legal Foundation represents seven current and former incarcerated individuals at immigration detention facilities in Adelanto, California. Company attorneys claim the facility’s staff increased even though Adelanto had been using the chemical HDQ Neutral for at least his decade.Dissemination of products during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
SJLF attorneys said detainees were exposed to the chemical almost constantly over several months from February 2020 to April 2021, resulting in persistent coughing, sore throats and noses, skin irritation, He claims to have suffered from rashes, headaches and other symptoms.
Plaintiff found blood in his mouth and saliva, suffered debilitating headaches, felt dizzy and lightheaded, and is now dealing with long-term, chronic health problems as a result of chemical exposure. It says it does.
A spokesperson for GEO Group Inc. said the company strongly denies allegations that “GEO is using hazardous chemicals as cleaning agents in its ICE processing centers.”
A spokesperson said: .”
However, in 2021, the EPA told the GEO Group that after an inspection that spurred complaints of detainees about illness after exposure to HDQ Neutral, it would “use pesticides registered in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.” I used it” and issued a warning.
What is said to be happening in Adelanto is part of a pattern of behavior by GEO, Shubhra Shivpuri, executive director of the Social Justice and Legal Foundation, told NPR.
GEO Group Inc. has faced multiple lawsuits over the years by inmates and inmates’ families due to suspected prison and immigration detention facility conditions. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is GEO’s largest source of customer revenue.
GEO Group Inc.’s Adelanto facility has also come under heavy criticism from federal oversight agencies. Detainees’ health and safety are at risk while in Adelanto, with reports of problems including prolonged solitary confinement in violation of ICE’s own standards. Despite these previous issues, ICE renewed and expanded its contract to keep the Adelanto facility open.
A GEO Group spokesperson said complaints such as those presented by the SJLF were “a long-standing, politically motivated radical effort to attack ICE contractors, abolish ICE, and end proxy federal immigration detention. It is said to be part of a “popular campaign”.
Detainees gather in a common area of one of the residential units at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California, in 2019.
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Detainees gather in a common area of one of the residential units at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California, in 2019.
Chris Carlson/AP
Adelanto staff sprayed HDQ Neutral “indiscriminately”
The Environmental Protection Agency considers HDQ Neutral to be corrosive and a chemical that can cause irreversible eye damage and skin burns. Manufacturer Spartan Chemical warns users not to inhale, ingest, or get in eyes, skin, or clothing.
According to the lawsuit, the staff began using HDQ Neutral in February 2020, “amazingly.”
“Chemical spraying was a fairly constant and invasive presence in Adelanto. GEO staff sprayed HDQ Neutral every 15 to 30 minutes from tanks secured to their backs and small spray bottles. Staff sprayed the chemical in the air and on all surfaces: food contact surfaces, phones, railings, door handles, bathrooms, showers, sinks,” the lawsuit continues.
“GEO staff sprayed people while they were eating, and a chemical mist fell on the food. At night, GEO staff sprayed on and around bunk beds and cells where people slept. “On at least one occasion, GEO staff sprayed individuals with disciplinary action,” the complaint alleges.
Ignore GEO The SJLF has repeatedly received complaints from detainees about symptoms from the spray, claiming it “denies and misrepresents the use and effects of toxic chemicals to both detainees and regulators.” there is
A company spokesperson claims the cleaning agents used are safe and “widely used in a variety of locations around the country, including hospitals, nursing homes, youth centers, colleges and universities.”
The SJLF has announced that the lawsuit will be entered into a class action lawsuit so that other individuals detained at the Adelanto ICE processing center and believed to have been harmed by chemical use can receive damages, medical expenses, attorneys’ fees, etc. I hope to prove that award.
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