WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Mexican Consulate in the US State of Arizona is aware a group of illegal immigrants at a detention center are on hunger strike and will ensure their well-being, Mexican Embassy Press and Public Affairs Minister Ariel Moutsatsos-Morales told Sputnik on Tuesday.
“The Consulate is aware that a group of people has refused to eat the food provided by the detention center,” Moutsatsos-Morales said. “Consular staff will continue visiting this and other detention centers to verify that Mexican nationals are treated in a humane and respectful manner.”
The death of a detainee in May and inhumane treatment prompted up to 200 illegal immigrants at the Eloy Arizona Detention Center over the weekend to reportedly go on a hunger strike demanding better living conditions and treatment at the facility.
However, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Sputnik on Tuesday detainees never started a hunger strike.
“At this time, no detainees have declared a hunger strike related to this protest,” ICE Public Affairs Officer Yasmeen O’Keefe told Sputnik on Tuesday.
The Mexican Embassy official said any mistreatment of illegal immigrants will be brought up with US authorities.
Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that thousands of undocumented migrants, including children, are denied food, water and medical care while being held in frigid and filthy US detention facilities along the Mexican border.
On Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights slammed US immigration detention centers for their inhumane conditions, citing a lack of health care, violence and overcrowding. The UN envoy called for an overhaul of US policy on migrants, especially women and children, whose rights he said are being gravely violated.
