22 Sep 2020
ICE Detention Facilities: Failing to Meet Basic Standards of Care
"OVERSIGHT FAILURES: DHS Oversight of ICE Detention Facilities Fails to Effectively Identify and Correct Deficient Conditions
1. Oversight programs are too broad, too infrequent, and preannounced;
2. ICE’s contractor is ill-equipped to conduct inspections in a manner that successfully identify deficiencies;
3. DHS has few mechanisms to enforce corrections and rarely uses those mechanisms; and
4. ICE contracts with detention facilities that are poorly equipped to meet the agency’s own detention standards.
DEFICIENCIES AT ICE FACILITIES: ICE Facilities Are Generally Clean, But Frequently Fail to Meet Basic Standards of Care
1. With some egregious exceptions, the facilities visited by the Committee were generally clean; 2. ICE detainees frequently face deficient medical, dental, and mental health care; 3. Detention facilities often misuse and abuse segregation; and 4. Detainees face challenges accessing legal services, case information, and interpreter/translation services."