DOWNTOWN NEW ORLEANS -
Day laborers protested the death of a detainee. He died in federal custody. The workers gathered outside the offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. The workers want to know what happened behind the barbed wire. They say ICE is not giving them satisfactory answers.
The day laborers protested down Poydras, and they also prayed. "We pray for his family who is suffering at this time," said a priest in the crowd.
All of this is on behalf of Jose Nelson Reyes Zelaya.
"Jose Nelson was a young man who was only 28 years old. He was from El Salvador. He was another worker who was here helping out in the reconstruction," said Jacinta Gonzalez, of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.
But earlier this month he was picked and brought to a federal detention center in New Orleans.
Reyes Zelaya arrived at Templeman 5 on July 16th. He died two days later, and ICE says he died of asphyxiation.
"We're here to demand clear answers and transparency from immigration," said Saket Soni of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.
"We want answers. But more than anything but more than anything we don't want anymore deaths," said day laborer Ezekiel Falcon in Spanish.
The day laborers also handed ICE employees a federal Freedom of Information .This act alone was cause for celebration, in the workers' quest for answers.
ICE did issue a press release on the day this happened stating when they found Reyes Zelaya dead; it was "apparent asphyxiation". ICE also says the Office of Inspector General is reviewing the circumstances.
Eight detainees have died in ICE custody this year alone. This is the first this year in Louisiana.
The day laborers protested down Poydras, and they also prayed. "We pray for his family who is suffering at this time," said a priest in the crowd.
All of this is on behalf of Jose Nelson Reyes Zelaya.
"Jose Nelson was a young man who was only 28 years old. He was from El Salvador. He was another worker who was here helping out in the reconstruction," said Jacinta Gonzalez, of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.
But earlier this month he was picked and brought to a federal detention center in New Orleans.
Reyes Zelaya arrived at Templeman 5 on July 16th. He died two days later, and ICE says he died of asphyxiation.
"We're here to demand clear answers and transparency from immigration," said Saket Soni of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice.
"We want answers. But more than anything but more than anything we don't want anymore deaths," said day laborer Ezekiel Falcon in Spanish.
The day laborers also handed ICE employees a federal Freedom of Information .This act alone was cause for celebration, in the workers' quest for answers.
ICE did issue a press release on the day this happened stating when they found Reyes Zelaya dead; it was "apparent asphyxiation". ICE also says the Office of Inspector General is reviewing the circumstances.
Eight detainees have died in ICE custody this year alone. This is the first this year in Louisiana.
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