Migrants detained by the immigration authorities ICE in New York hold a short hunger strike against the abolition of free telephone calls and poor conditions

June 20, 2024

The Free Minutes program dates back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when prisons across the country closed their doors to visitors. “The phone calls are a lifeline for those incarcerated,” said Rosa Santana of the Envision Freedom Fund.

ICE Detention Center — Josh Denmark/Department of Homeland Security

The ICE Batavia-Buffalo federal detention facility in northern New York state.

On the afternoon of June 6, a migrant being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York, received a pop-up message on the tablet he uses to communicate with his family and lawyers: The free phone program he had access to for the past few years would be discontinued, it said.

“When I opened it (the tablet), a message fell off,” the man said in Spanish over the phone, telling City Limits that the service was shut down early last week. “Several people were outraged when they saw the message.”

The Free Minutes program dates back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when detention centers across the country closed their doors to visitors. In May 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched the initiative to offer detainees free domestic and international calls each month. In Batavia, migrants received 520 minutes per month to make calls within the country.

According to the detained migrant, who asked that his name not be published for fear of reprisal, the end of the program – along with other inadequate conditions at the facility, including what he said were poor quality food and water – was the trigger for a brief hunger strike the previous weekend.

About 40 detainees in the same unit in Batavia refused to eat starting Friday afternoon, June 7, the migrant explained. He and seven others continued to do so until Saturday, and one person continued until Monday, June 10. The man described a number of other problems in the detention center: he had to spend up to 18 to 19 hours in a small cell that he had to share with another person, was only allowed to flush the toilet four times a day and was only allowed to spend short periods of time outside.

“We started a hunger strike, risking our lives to be heard,” the man said in a statement shared by advocacy groups. Advocacy groups say they have also received reports of retaliation against participants in hunger strike protests.

ICE representatives did not respond to City Limits’ request for comment on the call program or allegations of mistreatment and poor conditions in detention facilities by press time.

A spokesperson did not deny the hunger strike in Batavia, but also did not respond to questions about specific details. He said only that the agency respects migrants’ right to self-expression and autonomy to refuse food. ICE said the safety of those in its custody is its top priority and that staff at ICE detention centers are trained to deal with hunger-striking individuals and to make referrals for medical evaluations.

Batavia is not the only place where the free phone service is being eliminated. According to advocacy director Setareh Ghandehari of the Detention Watch Network, messages have been reported in several facilities announcing the end of the program.

The group received reports that the call-in program has been shut down at at least 15 other locations used by ICE across the country — including the Orange County Jail in Goshen, New York (the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the jail, did not respond to City Limits’ request for comment on the call-in program).

Migrants at the OCJ told Rosa Santana, bond director and interim co-executive director of the Envision Freedom Fund, that on June 7 they saw a piece of paper on the prison bulletin board stating in English and Spanish that they would no longer have access to the free minutes.

“For everyone, this happened basically overnight,” Santana said, adding that there was no hunger strike there. “The phone calls are a lifeline for the prisoners.”

Immigration lawyers and organizations that provide legal assistance to these people are raising the alarm, warning that people will no longer have any opportunity to speak to their families or legal representatives.

“This is a very hard blow,” said the migrant detained in Batavia, adding that he has already seen the impact of the cut on others who cannot bring money to their canteen to pay for their calls. “There are many people who immigrate and have no relatives in the country who can support them financially.”

Detainees awaiting processing often participate in ICE’s volunteer work program, performing various tasks in their facilities such as cleaning, cooking, laundry and gardening in return for a few dollars in compensation.

“We hear that people feel they have no choice but to participate in these programs … to be able to make phone calls,” Ghandehari said.

ICE did not respond to questions about why it was ending the free phone minutes program and did not provide information about how many facilities across the country have already ended or will end the program.

“They’re passing the cost on to people who can’t afford it,” Santana said. “It’s like making money out of human suffering and people who can’t afford all these things.”

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