"There was no explanation, no warning. One minute, I was in an immigration office talking to an officer about my work visa, which had been approved months before and allowed me, a Canadian, to work in the US. The next, I was told to put my hands against the wall, and patted down like a criminal before being sent to an Ice detention center without the chance to talk to a lawyer.” (1). She restarted the visa application multiple times, returning to Canada when requested. She was suddenly detained for two weeks. At first, detained in a cell left to sleep on the floor. She said, “The real issue was how long it took to get out of the system, with no clear answers, no timeline and no way to move forward. Once deported, many have no choice but to abandon everything they own because the cost of shipping their belongings back is too high” (1). Then, she was transferred to Otay Mesa and then San Luis detention center. This is where she says “we were forced to go through the entire intake process all over again, with medical exams, fingerprinting - and pregnancy tests; they lined us up in a filthy cell, squatting over a communal toilet, holding Dixie cups of urine while the nurse dropped pregnancy tests in each of our cups. It was disgusting” (1). “There were no pillows. The room was ice cold, and one blanket wasn’t enough. Around me, women lay curled into themselves, heads covered, looking like a room full of corpses. This place made the last jail feel like the Four Seasons” (1). She was finally released and shares her story for the women she met and bonded with.

#InadequateConditions #Released #CheckInDetainment