ICE detainees were ‘poisoned’ by toxic cleaning chemicals, lawsuit alleges

Lawsuit says GEO Group 'poisoned' ICE detainees with cleaning chemicals - The Washington Post
As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States in early 2020, employees at an Adelanto, Calif., detention center began spraying the facility with a foul-smelling pink aerosol, a lawsuit alleges. Employees told those detained at Adelanto, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, that the chemicals were cleaning agents necessary to protect them against the coronavirus and that they were safe. But detainees allegedly began to report symptoms, including headaches, burning eyes, skin irritation and fainting. In a lawsuit filed last week against the GEO Group, the company that runs the detention center, seven current and former detainees allege they were “poisoned” by the pink spray that they say pervaded the Adelanto facility. The chemical used was HDQ Neutral, a powerful disinfectant that the lawsuit claims is known to be toxic and is intended only for use outdoors or in well-ventilated environments. In a statement, a GEO Group spokesperson denied that the company uses any harmful chemicals as cleaning products and called the lawsuit a “politically motivated and radical campaign to attack ICE’s contractors.” GEO Group’s facility in Adelanto, one of several detention centers the company operates for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has come under scrutiny in the past. Homeland Security inspectors noted several violations in a 2018 report after finding cells with nooses hanging from the ceiling and detainees with rotting teeth. In 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the facility to release detainees it argued were at heightened risk of contracting the coronavirus because of cramped conditions and a failure to adopt precautions. The class-action case is ongoing in federal court. Last week’s lawsuit alleged that the sanitation measures GEO Group did adopt at the onset of the pandemic instead “poisoned” detainees. Between February 2020 and April 2021, Adelanto workers are accused of spraying HDQ Neutral into the air and onto all surfaces in the facility — cafeteria tables, telephones, bathrooms, handrails and beds. When they sprayed second-floor railings, they created a mist that fell onto people’s faces, hair and food on the floor below, the lawsuit alleged. Hernandez Carrillo, one of the plaintiffs, had HDQ Neutral sprayed into his dormitory at night, according to the lawsuit. He resorted to stuffing a towel under his door and covering his mouth and nose with sheets, the lawsuit alleges. Because the public phones were wet with the chemical, Carrillo had to use napkins to protect his skin when he called his wife, the complaint says. Another plaintiff, Miriam Scheetz, worked on the cleaning crew alongside other detainees and was allegedly ordered to spray the chemical but was not given the masks and protective equipment GEO Group’s cleaners used when they sprayed it. The lawsuit says she developed nosebleeds and, during one cleaning shift, began vomiting and fainted. Several plaintiffs who have since been released from Adelanto still experience symptoms like deteriorated eyesight and dizziness, the lawsuit alleges. When detainees complained to GEO Group workers about the constant spraying and their symptoms, their concerns about the chemicals were dismissed, according to the lawsuit. The complaint alleges that detention center employees failed to properly warn detainees of the dangers of HDQ Neutral, which were available on a chemical supplier’s website. The Environmental Protection Agency says the two active chemicals in HDQ Neutral can be toxic when ingested, inhaled or exposed to skin, according to the lawsuit. The EPA investigated Adelanto’s use of HDQ Neutral in July 2020 and issued a warning to the facility that was made public in March 2021. GEO Group also misled the EPA and Congress about its use of HDQ Neutral, the lawsuit alleges. GEO Group’s CEO, George Zoley, told a House Homeland Security subcommittee in July 2020 that the company’s use of the chemical fell within safety guidelines and that no adverse effects had been reported, according to the lawsuit, despite employees using the chemicals indoors near detainees and detainees reporting adverse effects from its use. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages and payment for plaintiffs’ medical expenses.