Immigration detention: Were detainees offered rotten food?

On Behalf of | Sep 17, 2020 | U.s. Immigration Law |

Recent problems at a Florida detention center have been reported. Immigration officers are accused of providing inedible food to detainees there. The immigrants in question happen to practice the Muslim religion, and they say the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers holding them in custody forced them to violate their religious tenets.

Muslims are forbidden to eat pork. However, the immigrants being held at this particular Florida detention facility say their custodians repeatedly offer them meals that include pork and pork-based products. The detainees say the Halal meals they were offered consisted of rotten food or foods that exceeded labeled expiration dates.

The Arabic word Halal means “permissible.” A Halal meal is a meal that consists of food that strictly adheres to Islamic law. Numerous immigrants being held in custody who ate the Halal meals rather than violate their religious tenets by eating the food that contained pork wound up suffering multiple health issues, including severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

Several Muslim immigrants at the Florida detention center say they wrote letters of complaint to ICE officials, but their letters were not acknowledged or the concerns addressed. When an immigrant believes someone has violated his or her personal rights. An attorney well-versed in U.S. immigration law would be able to help a concerned detainee determine a best course of action in a particular set of circumstances.

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