Forty-two men were flown to Alaska on Monday for detainment after they were arrested outside of the state by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Alaska Department of Corrections is now holding 40 men after two were transferred, agency spokesperson Betsy Holley told News from the States. These men were taken in under an “existing contract for federal detainees,” and the department will receive $223.70 per man per day, Alaska Deputy DOC Commissioner April Wilkerson told Alaska Public Media.
Wilkerson expects they’ll be kept there for a month.
It’s not clear where the men were arrested and held before this weekend. The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for more information.
Anchorage immigration attorney Nicolas Olano said at least some of the inmates are being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, which he described as having “very poor” conditions. He said the men would be better off at the next-closest immigration facility in Tacoma, Washington.
“The food is terrible, and the medical attention is subpar,” Olano told Alaska Public Media. “This is different, and I'm not saying that it's a great camp, but my understanding of what the clients have told me, the treatment, the food, the space in the facilities, are much better in Tacoma.”
Olano added that Alaska has a shortage of interpreters. He said this move was “unusual” and unlike anything he has seen in his ten years as an attorney in Alaska.
Alaska Department of Corrections spokesperson Betsy Holley told The Independent the 40 men are “receiving the same standard of care, attention, and services as any other individuals in our custody.”
Cynthia Gachupin, a victims' rights advocate with the organization Victims for Justice, says she’s concerned about how families will get information about where these men are being held.
“A lot of these families don’t know where their family members are,” Gachupin told News from the States. “And now, if they’re moving and moving and moving them, like how are they going to get in contact with them?”
“It’s just really wrong, I think morally as human to human, I don’t think under any reason we should be treating people that way,” she added.
This comes amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. In a recent escalation, his administration is reportedly preparing to send thousands of undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay as soon as this week.
Los Angeles protestors launched a major demonstration against Trump’s immigration policies over the weekend. Trump aide Stephen Miller called the protesters “insurrectionists,” while the president deployed thousands of military personnel to clamp down on the demonstration. Trump also said he would support arresting Newsom on Monday.
California leaders responded Tuesday by suing the administration for deploying the National Guard.
The protest was reportedly sparked by White House aide Stephen Miller’s call to ICE officials demanding they ramp up arrests after falling short of Trump’s goal to carry out record-breaking deportations.
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