The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia released a new report documenting what it calls sub-standard conditions at the state’s four, federal immigration detention facilities.

Sixty-eight detainees at facilities in Stewart County, Irwin County, Gainesville and the city of Atlanta were interviewed along with family members, immigration attorneys and detention officials. The three year probe reveals alleged violations of detainees’ due process rights, inadequate medical care, substandard living conditions and abuse of power by those in charge.

Azadeh Shahshahani with the ACLU in Georgia, says many of these immigrants – while in the country illegally - are not violent:

“Many of them do not pose a risk to society or a flight risk, and our recommendation would be for ICE to use alternatives to detention, supervised release or monitored release, for example.”

The ACLU is calling for the facilities in Stewart and Irwin Counties to be closed. It suggests improvements at the other two centers.

Tags: ACLU, immigrants, parker wallace, detainees