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Concerns raised on youth facility’s use for immigration detainees
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Posted on Jul 16 2004
Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Juan L. Babauta said his department would meet with the Attorney General’s Office about plans to jail immigration detainees at the juvenile detention in Kagman, to assess its possible impact on youth offenders at the facility.
The DCCA and the AGO would meet about the plan on Monday, Babauta said.
“We want to make sure that our juveniles are protected there,” Babauta said. The Division of Youth Services, an agency under the DCCA, manages the facility.
DYS acting director Floyd Masga said there are currently three juveniles at the facility, which he likened to a dormitory. He said it has two buildings, each of which has a capacity of 22. Within the facility is an area where the juveniles are allowed to play, according to Masga.
“We’re working closely with the AGO in those efforts [to implement the plan],” Babauta said.
Attorney General Pamela Brown disclosed the plan amid efforts to beef up enforcement of the CNMI’s immigration policy. With the manhunt of some 159 illegally staying members of the garment class action suit alone, overcrowding at the Immigration detention facility in As Perdido becomes imminent. There are some 20 detainees currently staying at the Immigration detention facility.
Brown said the Kagman facility has been under-utilized, explaining that the plan would maximize the use of available government resources.
Brown assured that there would be sight and sound barriers separating the juvenile and immigration detainee populations once the plan is implemented. She said the plan would adhere to policies of the Justice Department and local laws.
