Louisiana ICE jail tried to shut up prisoners after mishandling tuberculosis case

Baton Rouge, June 14 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of Louisiana, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jail has been put on a “communications lockdown” after imprisoned women led a protest in response to a possible exposure to tuberculosis and medical negligence. 

Women held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile revealed to The Intercept last week that a prisoner had reportedly tested positive for tuberculosis and that guards had ordered a quarantine.  The women refused to comply, protesting the conditions inside the ICE jail. 

In retaliation, guards took away their phones and tablets so they wouldn’t be able to communicate with the outside world. 

Last year, the jail took similar measures against women who spoke out against its response to the pandemic.

In other immigration news, in New Jersey, activists who successfully halted the deportations of two ICE prisoners earlier this month by protesting outside the Bergen County Jail are now facing rioting charges.