Dartmouth Jail Accused Of Mistreatment Will No Longer Be Used To Detain Immigrants

BOSTON (CBS) - A Massachusetts jail under federal investigation will no longer be used to detain immigrants. The staff at the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center in North Dartmouth have been accused of mistreating detainees.

The secretary of Homeland Security said that would not be tolerated, so the government is ending its contract with the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.

The detention center had been accused of overcrowding and overall inhumane conditions. Immigrants complained of a lack of COVID-19 precautions and excessive use of force.

An investigation by the Attorney General's office found the Bristol County Sheriff's Department violated the civil rights of immigrants in its custody during a May 2020 riot.

The state's congressional delegation applauded the move. A statement signed by both Massachusetts senators and eight representatives read in part, "Every person - regardless of their immigration status and regardless of where they are living - deserves to feel safe, to have access to due process under the law, to be treated with dignity, and to have their rights protected."

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson called the move "a political hit job" and said the decision puts people in the community at greater risk.

The seven immigrants currently detained at the center will be transferred to another facility.