The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked federal investigators late Monday to examine allegations of sexual, physical and emotional abuse of immigrants held at government detention facilities, saying the mistreatment may have been occurring since 2014 or earlier.
With President Donald Trump already under fire for separating thousands of migrant children from their detained parents, the request for an investigation by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., elevated yet another issue to the administration’s list of immigration problems.
“These allegations of abuse are extremely disturbing and must be addressed,” Grassley and Feinstein wrote. “This is not a partisan issue as reporting suggests many have been occurring for years. Immigrant families and children kept in federal custody deserve to be treated with basic human dignity and respect and should never be subjected to these forms of abuse.”
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