ICE Jails Denied Muslim Detainees’ Right to Celebrate Ramadan
For many Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan—which, this year, stretched from mid-February to late March—is observed by fasting from sun up to sunset, communal prayer, studying the Quran and other ceremonies. While religious accommodation behind bars is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), denial of appropriate mealtimes, prayer mats, and other restrictions can make observing Ramadan a struggle. This is also occurring in facilities operated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite immigration detention being a form of civil detention.
As part of Republican Pres. Donald Trump’s efforts to crackdown on immigrants, ICE has currently detained around 75,000 people, a steep rise from 40,000 prior to January 2025. These detainees are locked up in more than 225 facilities, many of which are run by notorious private prison profiteers, like CoreCivic and Geo Group, that have come under fire for inhumane conditions. While ICE’s own standards require giving detainees access to “reasonable and equitable opportunities to participate in the practices of their respective faiths,” reporting by Truthout reveals that these accommodations are not offered or met when requested.
Muslim detainees held at the Northwest ICE processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, for example, reportedly received non-halal meals or were offered their evening, fast-breaking meals hours after sunset, leading to a longer fast. Until recently, some detainees at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey did not even have access to Qurans and were only able to receive the text after they were delivered by an advocacy group.
Although denying religious accommodations during Ramadan is not a new phenomenon in immigration jails, the rapid upscaling of ICE’s detention infrastructure—as well as the practice of recklessly shipping detainees from one facility to another—has led to confusion and untrained guards who do not understand their responsibilities or the rights of the detained.
Source: Truthout
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