Buried Abuse

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This story was done in partnership with Rewire.News. There’s a long and extensive pattern of sexual abuse and harassment in immigration detention facilities, even though the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was introduced in DHS facilities in 2014. Over a ten-month period, Latino USA partnered with Rewire.News and dug into one specific case: that of Laura Monterrosa’s sexual abuse allegations at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center. What we learned after reviewing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request raised questions about the efficacy of internal investigations at immigration facilities across the country and the safety of thousands of people detained there.