JACKSONVILLE, FL – Guillermo Antonio Leon Serrabi, a Salvadoran national who suffered permanent injuries while detained in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) at the Baker County Detention Center, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida challenging his punitive placement in solitary confinement and related inhumane treatment at the facility. Mr. Serrabi is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Blankenship Law Group.
Mr. Serrabi arrived in the United States as a child in 2013. He was detained by ICE in the summer of 2021 and was moved to the Baker County Detention Center. He remained at the facility until he was deported to El Salvador in August 2022. For ten months, Mr. Serrabi suffered abuse and mistreatment not only at the hands of local staff of the Baker County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) operating the facility under their contract with ICE but by federal agents who ordered he remain in solitary confinement for three months without reason or justification.
ICE officers harmed Mr. Serrabi by placing and keeping him in solitary confinement for 88 days, despite known mental health vulnerabilities, as a way to pressure him to facilitate his deportation. While in solitary confinement, Mr. Serrabi was violently assaulted by a correctional officer at Baker under ICE supervision simply for praying and singing to himself. The attack resulted in severe physical injuries, including a ruptured eardrum and long-term hearing loss. Mr. Serrabi did not receive adequate medical care for these injuries and was forced to remain in solitary confinement despite his deteriorating physical and mental health.
As the lawsuit explains, BCSO officers taunted Mr. Serrabi by passing by his cell every couple of days, asking if he was “ready to be deported,” even while his attorney continued to pursue his immigration case. At the same time, Mr. Serrabi was denied access to telephone calls, impeding his ability to speak with both his attorney and family members to develop his case. He was also denied recreational time or the ability to interact with other detained individuals.
“ICE has a special duty to ensure the humane treatment of individuals held under its custody, especially the most vulnerable,” said Amien Kacou, staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “Now over two years after leaving the facility, Mr. Serrabi continues to suffer from long-term injuries and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Justice is long overdue.”
The lawsuit seeks damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the Florida torts of false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
A copy of the complaint can be viewed here.
