Democratic U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson is calling for detainees in a West Texas immigration detention facility to have more access to their attorneys and be granted due process.
Johnson visited the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, located 200 miles west of Dallas, on Friday after constituents complained of their family members not having access to legal counsel, poor quality of food and cleanliness of the facility.
Many remain “without resolution,” she said.
“They haven't had access to lawyers, they haven't had hearings yet on a final deportation or whether or not they should be released on bond and many of them are just waiting for that process,” Johnson said.
She said she met with a man from Cuba that had been sitting in the facility for 11 months because Cuba wouldn’t accept him.
“They don't have a clear plan of what to do going forward,” she said. “He's just basically sitting in this detention center without any clear pathway on how to get out of there.”
Johnson serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and the subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, which has oversight of ICE. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and staff from the company running the facility gave her a “comprehensive tour,” she said.
At the Bluebonnet Detention Facility, Johnson said many of the detainees fall into the "low threat" category or have no criminal history at all.
“That doesn't fall in line with the rhetoric that the Trump administration is putting out and that they're supporting only exceedingly or, you know, hardened criminals,” Johnson said.
KERA News was unable to independently verify information on the detainees being held at the facility. KERA reached out to ICE’s regional communications office on Friday regarding Johnson’s visit and will update with any response.
The U.S. Supreme Court in April blocked the Bluebonnet facility from deporting Venezuelan migrants under a law that allows for accelerated removals.
Johnson said next on her list is to follow up with what’s going on at the Dallas ICE Field Office.
In late July, Johnson and fellow Democratic North Texas Congress members Marc Veasey and Jasmine Crockett sent a joint letter addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons asking for an investigation of the facility after receiving reports of overcrowding and poor conditions there.
Johnson’s visit to the Bluebonnet Detention Facility came days after a Dallas community activist and Southern Methodist University graduate was sent there. Omar Salazar was detained following a traffic stop in West Texas.
Veasey said in a statement last week his office is continuing to “monitoring the situation and provide support to ensure that [ICE] follows proper law and procedure in a humane and just manner.”
Johnson said she will also continue to monitor the Bluebonnet Detention Facility and requested records during her visit.
“I'm hopeful that they will follow up with us and get us those documentations that we had asked for and we will kind of go from there,” she said.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
