Three transgender women held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena report enduring physical violence and medical neglect. Detainees including Camila Toro de Paula and Estephany Rivas allege that GEO Group management uses solitary confinement as a tool of torture.
Solitary confinement as 'protection' for Camila Toro de Paula and others
Camila Toro de Paula, Estephany Rivas, and a woman known as Sofia describe a harrowing environment at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. According to the report, these women are frequently kept in solitary confinement under the guise of safety within a male-only facility. However, the detainees characterize this isolation as a form of torture, alleging that it is accompanied by verbal slurs and physical assaults by officers.
The Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center is operated by the GEO Group, a private, for-profit corporation. The reports from these women suggest that the abuse of transgender detainees is not an isolated incident but part of a larger culture of cruelty. This environment is further marred by allegations of forced detransitioning and invasive pat-downs, which the detainees claim create a state of constant fear and instability.
The 2024 investigation into shackles and contaminated food at Louisiana ICE centers
The current allegations against the GEO Group echo a 2024 investigation that uncovered systemic human rights violations across various Louisiana ICE centers.. That investigation, which aligns with findings from the ACLU and the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, highlighted the use of shackles for extended periods, contaminated food, and unsanitary living conditions.
As the report says, the frequent use of pepper spray and medical neglect reported by transgender women are symptoms of a facility-wide disregard for human life.. By outsourcing government detention to for-profit entities like the GEO Group, the state has created a system where the profit motive may supersede the basic human rights of the most vulnnerable populations.
Mich González on the lack of protections for transgender detainees
Mich González, an immigrant rights attorney based in New Orleans, argues that there are virtually no mechanisms in place to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from transphobic violence. The lack of administrative policies that accommodate gender identity means that transgender women are forced into housing settings that do not recognize their identity, leaving them exposed to both staff harassment and peer violence.
The psychological trauma of prolonged isolation is exacerbated by this lack of oversight.. In the case of the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, the official narrative of "protective custody" serves as a mask for total social and physical erasure, leaving detainees in a state of psychological distress without legal recourse.
The legal limbo of Estephany Rivas and the missing oversight
There remain critical questions regarding the legal justification for the continued detention of these women.. For example, court records indicate that Estephany Rivas had prior traffic offenses that were resolved long before her current detention , yet she remans in custody without active criminal charges.
It remains unclear why the GEO Group and ICE continue to hold individuals who do not pose a criminal threat, or why the "protective" measures are not being audited by an independent third party. Furthermore, the source only reports the testimonies of the detainees and their attorney; the GEO Group and ICE have not provided a counter-narrative to these specific allegations of forced detransitioning and physical abuse.
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