Massachusetts town looking into ICE facility zoning violations after teen described conditions
The New England Regional Headquarters for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is supposed to be a processing facility where people stay for only hours, and the town of Burlington where the facility is located says that's how it is zoned. "What I'm just concerned about is fair and humane treatment for anybody in Burlington," said Mike Espejo, chairman of the Select Board, "and this doesn't seem like that's happening."
Milford teen describes conditions
He tells WBZ-TV the case of Marcelo Gomes da Silva has shined a new light on what is allegedly happening behind the doors. "No one deserves to be down there," Gomes da Silva told reporters when he posted bail last week. "You sleep on concrete floors, I have to use the bathroom in the open. It's humiliating."
He described what he called inhumane conditions for six days, leaving the town now more than concerned.
"We had no idea anything like that was happening," said Espejo. It is why town officials are now gathering information on the scope of the operations inside the building and whether the ICE facility is violating local zoning laws. "We are checking with our legal counsel to see if we can do any type of zoning enforcement, or health code violation enforcement," Espejo said. "Anything we can do to just make sure that people are at least being treated humanely."
Town was told no one held overnight
There was some opposition in the town when the facility first opened in 2008, but residents received assurances that no one would be held overnight. Espejo said they were told the same thing in recent weeks when local officials began inquiries amid rumors.
In a statement ICE tells WBZ-TV, "There are occasions where detainees might need to stay at the Burlington office for a short period that might exceed the anticipated administrative processing time."
The statement goes on to say, "detainees are given ample food, regular access to phones, showers and legal representation as well as medical care when needed."
That's not what Marcelo Gomes da Silva said he experienced. "I haven't showered in six days. I haven't done anything," he said when he was released.
Espejo says it's a gray area for the town. "It's a federal facility so we don't know how much jurisdiction we have over it," Espejo said. He says town officials feel misled about a building where they believed mostly paperwork was being done.
