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Lawyer reports from immigrants being held in Albany County jail

Jul 10, 2018 2:34 pm
Massarah Mikati reports in the Albany Times Union that at least one immigration attorney is beginning to tell stories about what is happening with the 330 immigrants being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at the Albany County jail. "What's really shocking to me is that they're really disoriented," said Camille Mackler, director of immigration legal policy at the New York Immigration Coalition. "They don't know where they are, they don't know the day. No one has explained anything to them." Mackler said many are asylum seekers, who, once detained were put into processing centers, which they refer to as "ice boxes" because there are no beds and the air conditioning is emitted from the floor. Some report physical and verbal abuse by border patrol agents, as well as some children getting their food taken away from them if they do not eat immediately, and women not give access to hygienic products like pads, Mackler said. More than 300 attorneys and interpreters are currently volunteering at the jail on Albany Shaker Road to help the immigrants. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.