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| Detainees protest jail food at Manatee immigration facility |
| By Sarasota Herald-Tribune |
| Published: 07/19/2004 |
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There's no buffet, the salad is wilted and the bread is old. Immigration detainees' tastebuds are fueling a hunger strike among about 50 inmates at the Port Manatee, Fla. facility who say the jail food isn't fit to eat. Jail officials refused to allow interviews with the striking detainees, citing procedural requirements. By last Monday evening, nine detainees had decided to eat, jail officials said. ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said her office is investigating the detainees' claims about spoiled food -- that is, wilted lettuce, old bread and brown bananas. "The safety and well-being of all the detainees in our custody is of the utmost priority," she said. Manatee County houses about 200 immigrants at the Port Manatee facility and another 300 at the downtown Bradenton jail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pays the county more than $10 million a year to house and feed the immigrants. Jail staffer Maj. Carolyn Smith said detainees complain their bread isn't fresh and that they should get coffee and fruit every day. And that there's no buffet, something detainees in Miami have. She said inmates receive two slices of bread with every meal and most of it is fresh. Smith said when bread is dry or stale it could be because inmates working in the kitchen aren't rotating or throwing out the old bread. If detainees don't start accepting the jail-made food soon, officials said they'll have to start searching cells for snack food so they can determine whether it's a bona fide hunger strike. ICE and county jail officials said it's difficult to determine whether detainees are actually on a hunger strike because most have a stash of snack food. Detainees can buy snacks such as chips, crackers and beef jerky twice a week at the jail commissary. |
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