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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is firing back at mainstream media claims that federal officers are gravely mistreating illegal immigrant criminals being held at a sectioned-off portion of Angola Prison in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana dubbed the “Louisiana Lockup.”
As the bayou brother of Alligator Alcatraz in Ochopee, Florida, Louisiana Gov. Jeffrey Landry offered that “criminal illegal aliens, beware – Louisiana Lockup is where your time in America ends.”
A spokesperson for the department told Fox News Digital there are more than 70 violent offenders among the ranks of prisoners being held at the ICE facility, and that besides the allegations being untrue, no one should shed a tear for those inside.
“Louisiana Lockup” houses at least 26 child predators, 20 other sex offenders and 28 convicted murderers, the department said.
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DHS highlighted several recent headlines they said were false, including those alleging illegal immigrants were conducting hunger strikes over inhumane conditions and lodging sexual misconduct complaints that went without sufficient corrective action.
“Allegations made by criminal illegal aliens that they do not have access to medical or mental health care at this facility are completely false. Detainees have full access to medical treatment, three proper meals per day, legal counsel, and other essential items,” a department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
A deputy to Secretary Kristi Noem added that there is “no hunger strike at Louisiana Lockup.”
“Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that the media repeats unsubstantiated, false allegations peddled by criminal illegal aliens,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
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“This facility is housing the worst of the worst,” she said, challenging critics to inform her who might be worse in society than child molesters and murderers.
As for claims inmates are going without proper medical attention, McLaughlin said the department’s practice of providing comprehensive care “from the moment an alien enters ICE custody” has been true for years.
“Why does the media have an obsession with peddling false sob stories of pedophiles, murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals?” she asked.
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Illegal immigrant criminals being held at Louisiana Lockup – just downriver from Natchez, Mississippi – include Manna Massaquoi of Liberia; convicted of aggravated assault, according to Homeland Security. Others are:
Raymond Louis of Haiti was convicted of assaulting a police officer, while Jose Gonzalez-Suarez of Cuba is a homicide convict.
Cuong Vu Son of Vietnam was convicted of lewd/lascivious acts with a minor, while Laotian national Bounmy Thammavongsa illegally entered the U.S. and was convicted of rape of a disabled person.
Other rape or sex-crime convicts include Jose Hernandez-Garcia of Mexico, Felix Rico of Cuba, Admassu Regassa of Ethiopia, Lam Nguyen of Vietnam, Jorge Cajides-Vegas of Cuba, Boonmee Vang of Laos, and Ibrahim Mohammed of Ethiopia.
Carlos Tealdi of Argentina was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor via film, and is being held in the bayou slammer, along with Anton Khoptynskii from Russia – who was convicted on similar charges, along with Henry Santamaria Hernandez, who was convicted of molesting a child.
Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., who represents the region around the jail, previously told Fox News it shows the Pelican State is “leading the way” on the illegal immigration crackdown.
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