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WASHINGTON (AP) – Homeland Security's internal watchdog says spoiled food, moldy and dilapidated toilets and agency practices in immigration detention centers can be a serious threat. violation of the rights of detainees.
The Inspector General's office made unannounced visits to four facilities in California, Louisiana, Colorado and New Jersey between May and November of last year, according to a report released Thursday. The facilities house approximately 5,000 detainees.
In a detention center in Adelanto, California, inspectors found leaks in detainees' cells, the segregation of some detainees too restrictively and inadequate medical care, the report said.
This comes as the Trump administration is handling an increasingly serious problem at the US-Mexico border, with a dramatic increase in the number of Central American migrants. Although most families can not be easily returned to their home country, the number of single adults is also increasing. Immigration officers arrest a growing number of single adults – about 52,000 now – but only receive funding of 45,000. The administration has asked for an additional $ 4.5 billion for beds additional.
Last month, border patrol agents made 132,887 arrests, surpassing 100,000 for the first time since April 2007 and setting a record with 84,542 adults and children apprehended. In addition, 11,507 children were alone and 36,838 single adults.
US immigration and customs officials said they were working to ensure that all facilities were up to standard. They say they have already trained food service staff on food security and have thoroughly cleaned and renovated the homes. They included photos of showers and bathrooms cleaned in their response.
"The safety, rights and health of ICE detainees are paramount," the agency's chief financial officer, Stephen Roncone, wrote to the inspector general's office. "ICE has made substantial progress in following up on the conclusions and recommendation contained in the OIG draft report."
Holding single adults is a priority of the administration; Officials say that detention is one of the only consequences that can be applied to people who cross illegally. However, two institutions took the detainees out of the general population into special units as a punishment, three were wrongly placed in restraint systems, and one facility segregated detainees who were to be separated. watch dog.
In a facility in Essex, New Jersey, the inspectors found that detainees did not have toiletries and that they were given uniforms that did not suit them.
At a facility in Aurora, Colorado, inmates are not allowed to visit their friends or family, although they have the opportunity to do so. Officials said they feared the smuggling of drugs or weapons, but acknowledged that visits should be considered.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Said the report confirmed what she had suspected about the treatment there.
"We need to take a close look at ICE's use of these private prisons and, at the very least, make clear to the agency that outsourcing its responsibility to physically detain these inmates does not absolve it of its duty to take care of them, "she wrote.
Poor medical care and dangerous conditions have been reported in ICE facilities for years.
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