Belizean Deported After Leading Hunger Strike in ICE Jail
A Belizean man who became one of the leading voices behind a hunger strike inside a California immigration detention centre has been deported. Immigrant rights advocates say this is retaliation for his public criticism of conditions inside the facility.
According to CALÒ News and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), Kyron Shakeel Swaso was deported after a series of “unlawful transfers” to detention centres in Texas and Louisiana. His removal came less than two weeks after he met with members of the U.S. Congress, where he helped deliver a petition signed by 150 detainees alleging poor conditions at the Adelanto, California, ICE Processing Center.
The petition raised concerns about mould, contaminated drinking water, inadequate food, and barriers to medical care, among other things.
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Before his deportation, Swaso issued a statement saying, “We want this place shut down and we want to be released… Our due process rights are being violated. They are using taxpayer dollars to abuse immigrants. The things they say publicly do not match what we are living through.”
ImmDef alleges that Swaso was transferred out of California without the notice required under a federal court order and argues that the move was retaliation for his activism and public criticism of detention conditions.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the deportation but rejected claims that it was retaliatory. According to DemocracyNow, the agency said Swaso had received a final order of removal and was transferred as part of standard deportation proceedings. DHS added that he entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2019 and overstayed and had been accused of crimes, including aggravated assault of a police officer and possession of firearms and drugs.
Swaso refutes that claim. He told LA TACO that he was taken into ICE custody in 2024 while holding an active B1/B2 visa, a standard U.S. nonimmigrant visa that allows foreign nationals to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1), tourism, or medical treatment (B-2), or a combination of both. He said he was also overseeing import businesses, including bananas and sugar.
However, he said that after a traffic violation, state troopers pulled him over and he was unable to present his passport or documents at the time. According to Swaso, this led officers to contact ICE, after which he was taken into custody and transferred to immigration detention.
DHS has also denied that a hunger strike is taking place at Adelanto and rejected allegations of abuse, despite detainees and advocates insisting otherwise. CALÒ News reports at least four deaths at the facility.