In a scene reminiscent from the series 'Prison Break, where Brad Bellick, a former correctional officer, ends up in prison alongside inmates, after a judge blocked a deportation flight, eight deportees and over a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are stranded in a shipping container, and surviving in unbearable conditions at a U.S. military base in Djibouti, a country in East Africa.

NPR reports:

Several migrants have been stuck at the base for more than two weeks, after the airplane they were on, which was originally bound for South Sudan, was rerouted mid-trip due to a federal judge's ruling. The court ruling came after multiple people facing deportation fought the Trump administration's effort to send them to South Sudan. Now, their case has reached the Supreme Court, which could issue a ruling at any time.

The officers and immigrants cannot leave the container where the daily temperature has exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Daily Beast reports that the 13 ICE officials, including two medical staff, fell ill immediately after landing and are currently suffering from respiratory infections, as well as extreme heat and cramped living conditions. They, along with the deportees, have been forced to reside in a makeshift detention center, with only six beds between them.

Court documents filed by top ICE and DHS official Mellisa Harper claim the ICE officials are experiencing “coughing, difficulty breathing, fever, and achy joints,”” and outside temperatures which exceed 100F, along with threats of malaria. At night, the air fills with a “smog cloud” filled with rancid smoke formed from nearby pits where locals burn trash and human waste, which is so polluted that some officers have taken to sleeping with facial masks on.

“Upon arrival in Djibouti, officers were warned by U.S. Department of Defense officials of imminent danger of rocket attacks from terrorist groups in Yemen,” Harper said. “The ICE officers lack body armor or other gear that would be appropriate in the case of an attack.”
Both officers and detainees fell ill within 72 hours of landing in Djibouti, she added, with the ICE officers at risk of developing malaria due to not being vaccinated or taking appropriate medication before arriving in Djibouti.

Using shipping containers to detain people is appalling, and indeed, the ICE officers would agree with that now. Brad Bellick could not be reached for comment.