A new report by Human Rights First condemns the Biden administration for imprisoning tens of thousands of asylum seekers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, jails, where they face prolonged detention periods, physical and psychological abuse, medical neglect, racism, a lack of legal and language resources, and other harms. The group says their imprisonment is wasteful, cruel and a violation of U.S. and international law. This is Salma, an asylum seeker from Uganda, who was held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California.

Salma: “They transported me to Adelanto, which took almost three hours. Imagine being chained, all of your body being chained. You cannot even scratch yourself. You cannot even reach out for water, for three straight hours. So, when I got to Adelanto, I was told to hand over all my stuff — my passport, my everything. And these are things that I never got back. So I handed over my identifications. I handed over my phones. Immediately they cut off my hair because it was braided. And then they gave me an injection that, up to date, I don’t understand what it meant.”