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U.S. Citizen Files Lawsuit, Alleging He Was Held in Immigration Jail

Plus: Florida immigrant detention center faces complaints, and Hondurans in Texas prepare for the election back home

Deanna Garcia

Nov 25, 2021

Activists gather outside the Bergen County Jail to demand the release, not transfer, of detained immigrants at the facility. Photo: Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio for Documented

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An American man has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government claiming it held him in immigration jail for more than a month, despite his status as a U.S. citizen. The man, Brian Bukle, was held in the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Central California after serving a sentence for assault and possession of a firearm, according to the lawsuit and organizations representing him. Bukle was born in the British Virgin Islands but became a U.S. citizen when he was 9 years old. “After I served my sentence I thought I would be going home to see my son for Father’s Day,” Bukle said in a statement. “Instead, I came this close to being deported and losing everything, a nightmare that has stayed with me to this day.” Associated Press

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Glades Detention Center in Florida Faces Mistreatment Complaints

The Department of Homeland Security has received various complaints regarding the treatment of immigrants in custody at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, WGCU reports. Members of Congress and advocacy organizations have raised 30 civil rights complaints in the past year related to Glades, according to Silvana Caldera of the ACLU of Florida. A recent complaint filed on behalf of 7 Black African immigrants in September alleged that “county correctional officers at Glades had subjected them to abusive treatment including use of pepper spray, medical neglect, excessive use of force, and solitary confinement.” WGCU

Hondurans in Texas Prepare for Upcoming Presidential Election Back Home

As Honduras’ presidential election nears on Sunday, Hondurans in Texas say they will be keeping a close eye on the results. In the balance, they say, is the potential to either improve economic conditions in their home country or drive more migration to the United States. “We hope the elections are peaceful, that people go out to vote and that those who are in power respect their decision,” said Emma Valladares, coordinator of HonduTex, a nonprofit that assists Honduran citizens in Houston. Border Report

Florida Gov. Says Flights Transporting Migrants to Jacksonville Have Been Stopped

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that flights with migrants onboard coming into Jacksonville from the southern border have been stopped for now. As many as 78 flights with migrants have landed at the Jacksonville International Airport in the last six months, according to records found by the News4Jax I-TEAM. Last week, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney general asking about these flights. Gov. DeSantis has accused President Biden of being secretive about the flights, and called it “reckless” to be “bringing people in.” News4Jax

Immigrant Parents Feel Excluded in Philadelphia Education System

Parents in Philadelphia who don’t speak English say they’ve felt alienated from some parts of their kids’ education due to language roadblocks, which have only become worse during the pandemic. Some parents told the Associated Press that students were being used as translators, that they were put through incorrect telephone translations and faced “poor communication when their children were being bullied.” Problems like these span across the country as various school districts are behind on creating infrastructure for non-English speakers, experts say. Associated Press

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