Los Angeles, Mar 21 (EFE).- A group of seven immigrants led a lawsuit against GEO Group, which alleges that the company recklessly used a toxic chemical as a measure to contain covid-19 in an immigration detention center in California, their lawyers reported today.
The immigrants were detained in the covid-19 pandemic at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) detention center in Adelanto, located in the south of the state, explained the Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF), which represents foreigners in the legal dispute.
The lawsuit alleges that GEO Group staff, in charge of managing the Adelanto center, sprayed HDQ Neutral ammonium disinfectant into the air and on all surfaces, including tables, microwaves, telephones, rails, door handles, bathrooms, showers and sinks, every 15 to 30 minutes in the facilities of the detention center.
The spraying was carried out both during the day and at night, underscores the lawsuit filed this Monday in the District Court for Central California.
Studies have shown that the inappropriate use of this chemical has short- and long-term health effects, including damage to the throat and nasal passages, loss of vision, skin problems, and can even have adverse effects on the reproductive system. and development.
“My eyes, nose and throat began to burn and the smell was so strong that I was often too nauseated to eat,” César Hernández, one of the plaintiffs, explained in a statement about the reactions he had after GEO began spraying the chemical, when the health emergency was declared in March 2020.
In this sense, Pilar González Morales, SJLF lawyer, warned that not only the plaintiffs were affected by the disinfectant. It is estimated that more than 1,300 people detained in Adelanto were harmed by the reckless use of this chemical.
For her part, SJLF lawyer Vanessa Domenichelli explained that GEO Group not only recklessly used the chemical against the manufacturer’s instructions “but also attempted to cover up its actions by lying to detainees and government entities alike.”
“Simply put, GEO Group cannot be trusted to take care of (detained) people,” he added.
