Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered an investigation Thursday into claims immigrant children were abused at a detention facility in his state, vowing “to do everything” to ensure the safety of minors statewide should their allegations be proven correct.
“I share many Virginians’ concerns about disturbing allegations of abuse at Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center,” Northam wrote on Twitter. “While the locally-operated center is subject to state oversight, the immigrants being housed there are subject to the oversight of the US Office of Refugee Resettlement.”
“However, this facility is in our Commonwealth. So I have asked @VAPSHS & the Department of Juvenile Justice to investigate these claims & report back to me about any steps that may be necessary at the state or federal level to ensure the safety of every child being held there,” the Democratic governor continued, referring to Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
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I share many Virginians’ concerns about disturbing allegations of abuse at Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center. While the locally-operated center is subject to state oversight, the immigrants being housed there are subject to the oversight of the US Office of Refugee Resettlement.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 21, 2018
However, this facility is in our Commonwealth. So I have asked @VAPSHS & the Department of Juvenile Justice to investigate these claims & report back to me about any steps that may be necessary at the state or federal level to ensure the safety of every child being held there.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 21, 2018
Children as young as 14, detained at the facility near Staunton, Va., made the accusations of abuse in sworn statements filed in federal court on October 17 by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the Associated Press reported earlier Thursday.
But the center’s lawyers denied the claims, some of which occurred under the Obama administration and none relate to President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy toward illegal immigration, according to the AP.
In the court documents, the minors describe how they were beaten by guards while wearing handcuffs, locked in solitary confinement for protracted periods, stripped naked in concrete cells, and tied to chairs while their heads were covered with bags, per the AP.
“If Virginia public safety officials find evidence of abuse or mistreatment at this facility, my administration will do everything we can to ensure the safety of these children,” Northam added Thursday.
If Virginia public safety officials find evidence of abuse or mistreatment at this facility, my administration will do everything we can to ensure the safety of these children.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 21, 2018
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to end the practice of taking children away from parents or guardians accused of illegally crossing the border, who are being prosecuted by the Justice Department as part of Trump’s zero tolerance policy.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to say that the alleged abuse began under the Obama presidency. A previous edition was also unclear about how the complaints are not associated with the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy.
