Hurricane Laura Floods ICE Jails in Louisiana as Asylum Seekers from Cameroon Strike over Conditions

People held in immigration jails in Louisiana report horrific conditions and continued mistreatment after Hurricane Laura devastated the area. Immigrants detained at the LaSalle and Jackson Parish jails say that after the storm, the two facilities have flooded with urine and feces and lack electricity, clean food or water.

Many of those protesting the conditions are from Cameroon, and refugee rights groups, including the Cameroon American Council, are demanding an investigation into conditions.

"The current immigration system is based on the racist practices, the white supremacy of 400 years," says Sylvie Bello, founder of the Cameroon American Council, one of the leading immigration advocacy groups working with Black and African communities in the U.S.

She says it's vital during a time of "racial reckoning" to fight for Black immigrants in ICE detention.

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