Contact Severed, Visits Restricted
Communication With the Outside World Nearly Impossible
More than 300 Korean workers have been detained at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility following a large-scale immigration raid at a battery factory in Georgia.
The facility where they were sent, the Foxton Immigrant Detention Center, is considered one of the most notorious private detention centers in the United States, frequently criticized for overcrowding and ongoing human rights violations.
Inside the Foxton Immigrant Detention Facility as reported in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General's report. DHS
According to U.S. media outlets such as the Associated Press and The Current on September 6 (local time), the facility is managed by the private corrections company GEO Group, which operates under contract with ICE. While it has a maximum capacity of 1,100 people, it is already overcrowded and has consistently been flagged for hygiene and safety issues.
There had been plans to expand the Foxton facility’s capacity from 1,100 to more than 2,900 people, but these were completely halted in June due to collective opposition from human rights organizations and ethical concerns. Human rights groups have pointed out that the profit-driven private management structure puts detainee welfare and human rights at a lower priority.
Contact between detainees and the outside world is also extremely limited. Outside parties must provide detailed information such as date of birth, country of origin, and registration number just to connect with ICE. Detainees cannot receive calls directly, and even attorney visits require a complicated process including prior paperwork. As a result, there are widespread concerns that both consular assistance and family contact are realistically very difficult.
A detainee from Jamaica told an independent media outlet in the Atlanta area last month that “the conditions here are worse than prison,” describing how “water pools in the depressions on the shower floor, mixed with feces, pubic hair, and saliva.” He also claimed, “All the food is past its expiration date. The boxes of chicken used for meals are all labeled ‘Not for Human Consumption.’”
According to a joint report released in November 2023 by the Detention Watch Network and El Refugio, in 2022, complaints were filed that 16 detainees were left outdoors for three hours in extreme heat exceeding 32 degrees Celsius. They were left without food, water, medicine, or shade, and one person reportedly suffered an asthma attack but did not receive an inhaler despite requesting it more than 30 times.
Due to this raid, the Korean nationals detained at the facility are currently having great difficulty contacting the outside world. James Woo, Director of Communications at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, stated, “Families living in Korea either do not know how to contact their detained relatives, or are struggling greatly with the complicated procedures.”
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