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Advocates Question Durham Teen's Treatment In Detention Facility

photo of Wildin Acosta
Courtesy of the Acosta family

Earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained 19-year-old Wildin Acosta as he was leaving his home in Durham.

Acosta has been held in a detention facility for nearly five months while he waits for an immigration hearing. The Corrections Corporation of America says he was recently held in "restrictive housing" for nine days for three alleged citations. CCA says the disciplinary action follows ICE detention standards.

Advocates for Acosta question whether it was retaliation for the high-profile nature of his case. Congressman G.K. Butterfield has advocated for Acosta's release on the House floor. And Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about the time an immigrant may be held in detention facilities.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Acosta's attorney, Evelyn Smallwood, about the latest in his case. He continues the conversation with WRAL reporter Leyla Santiago and immigration attorney Brian Hoffman.

Read the open letter to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson here.

Will Michaels is WUNC's Weekend Host and Reporter.
Charlie Shelton-Ormond is a podcast producer for WUNC.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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