ICE Official Reveals Miserable Conditions for U.S. Immigrants at Djibouti Prison
A top ICE official said illness is common at Camp Lemonnier, with inadequate medical care and exposure to smoke from burn pits.
A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official on Thursday detailed appalling and unsafe conditions faced by a group of deportees, and the government officials guarding them, at a U.S. military base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.
Melissa Harper, the No. 2 official at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, bemoaned a lack of adequate security equipment at the U.S. base Camp Lemonnier. In a sworn court declaration, she described illness among the detainees and government agents, inadequate medical care, and 100-degree outdoor temperatures. She detailed risks of malaria, exposure to smoke from nearby burn pits, and potential attacks from militants in Yemen.
“The aliens are currently being held in a conference room in a converted Conex shipping container on the U.S. Naval base in Camp Lemonnier,” said Harper in a sworn declaration in federal court in Massachusetts. “This has been identified as the only viable place to house the aliens.”
top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official on Thursday detailed appalling and unsafe conditions faced by a group of deportees, and the government officials guarding them, at a U.S. military base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.
Melissa Harper, the No. 2 official at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, bemoaned a lack of adequate security equipment at the U.S. base Camp Lemonnier. In a sworn court declaration, she described illness among the detainees and government agents, inadequate medical care, and 100-degree outdoor temperatures. She detailed risks of malaria, exposure to smoke from nearby burn pits, and potential attacks from militants in Yemen.
“The aliens are currently being held in a conference room in a converted Conex shipping container on the U.S. Naval base in Camp Lemonnier,” said Harper in a sworn declaration in federal court in Massachusetts. “This has been identified as the only viable place to house the aliens.”
In addition to using U.S. military sites at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and now Djibouti, the U.S. has reportedly explored, sought, or struck deals with more than 20 countries: Angola, Benin, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Kosovo, Libya, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Panama, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Camp Lemonnier is the primary U.S. military base on the African continent. For weeks, U.S. Africa Command has refused to offer any details on the conditions faced by the prisoners and ICE officials there. Asked about the conditions by The Intercept last month, AFRICOM spokesperson Kelly Cahalan said: “Please reach out to the White House.”
The White House failed to respond to repeated questions from The Intercept.
In her testimony, a sworn declaration regarding the case filed to Murphy, Harper, the ICE official, detailed additional dangers at the U.S. military base.
“Djibouti utilizes burn pits as a way disposing of trash and human waste,” she said. “These pits create a smog cloud in the vicinity of Camp Lemonnier, making it difficult to breathe and requiring medical treatment for the officers, who have experienced throat irritation.”
Harper said that military resources are being used for the detainees’ care, causing disruptions at the base. “DOD operators have expressed frustration, particularly about the proximity to DOD quarters of aliens with violent criminal records,” she revealed. “ICE medical staff has also received limited medication and medical supplies for both officers and the aliens from DOD.”
“It is unknown how long the medical supply will last.”
Additionally, Harper said that within 72 hours of landing in Djibouti, both the ICE agents and detainees began suffering from unidentified illnesses. “ICE officers continue to feel ill with symptoms such as coughing, difficulty breathing, fever, and achy joints. These symptoms align with bacterial upper respiratory infection, but ICE officers are unable to obtain proper testing for a diagnosis,” she said.
Harper said the medical staff did not have immediate access to the medications necessary to treat the sicknesses.
“Our flight nurse has since been able to obtain some but not all of what is necessary for the proper care and safety of both the officers and the detainees. It is unknown how long the medical supply will last,” she said in the sworn declaration.
ICE failed to provide a more detailed accounting of the health status of the eight detainees.
“We continue to be concerned about the health and safety of the men who are being subjected to these conditions,” said Realmuto.
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