90 Somalis suffered ‘inhumane’ abuse by US immigration officials

More than 90 Somali men and women were subjected to abuse on a Somali-bound flight early this month, Al Jazeera reported today.

The 92 Somali nationals were being deported by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Louisiana on 7 December when a stop was made in the Senegalese capital Dakar. The flight was unexpectedly ordered to return to the US two days later.

The ordeal spanned over a period of 48 hours, including 23 hours on the runway in Senegal. The Somalis were forced by ICE agents to “stay seated and chained at their wrists, ankles and waists”.

When the flight landed in Senegal, ICE officers and guards “beat, kicked, chocked, pushed, straightjacketed, threatened to kill, and berated people on the plane”, the claim says.

The Somalis were prevented from going to the toilet, “forcing people to try to urinate in bottles or on themselves”, the legal case alleges.

ICE agents wrapped some who protested, or just stood up to a question, in full-body restraints. ICE agents kicked, struck, or dragged detainees down the aisle of the plane, and subjected some to verbal abuse and threats

the legal case states.

ICE denies the allegations of mistreatment or that any altercation took place.

“No one was injured during the flight, and there were no incidents or altercations that would have caused any injuries on the flight,” ICE said. The agency claimed that the plane stopped in Senegal to allow a break for the flight crew.

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Farah Ali Ibrahim, one of the Somali passengers said, “after about 20 hours, I stood up and asked what was going on and why we were waiting. An officer grabbed me by the collar and I fell to the floor. Officers began dragging me down the aisle and beating me.”

“For more than two days, ICE agents subjected Petitioners to inhumane conditions and mistreatments including acts of serious physical violence that resulted in still untreated injuries,” the legal case filed in the US District Court said.

The Somali plaintiffs have requested the court dislodge their deportation.

ICE is responsible for immigration detention and deportation under the authority of the US Department of Homeland Security.

The case is ranked as an emergency, as the Somalis are listed for imminent deportation.

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