Recent allegations against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reveal the inhumane conditions that exist within ICE holding facilities. Accusations include medical neglect, malodorous overcrowding. A new lawsuit in a Maryland federal court shows the agency’s blatant disregard for its own policies. It especially teaches them to consider the ways they’re harming detained immigrants. This legal action sheds light on a federal agency seemingly bent on hiding from oversight and transparency. Reports have emerged of long-term detentions taking place amid squalid and unsanitary conditions.
Immigrants are suffering one-, two-, and three-year long deaths by ICE detention. Now, legislators and authorities are condemning the agency’s offices in Atlanta. As overcrowding became an irregularity, reports began to emerge that detainees are not just exposed to overcrowding but denied access to critical medical treatment. Lawmakers are right to be alarmed at their inability to inspect ICE field offices. A recent lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. illustrates how serious this issue is by asserting that officials have been barred from entering multiple facilities.
Allegations of Medical Neglect and Overcrowding
The class action lawsuit that was filed in Maryland shines a hard light on the inhumane and unsafe environments prevalent in ICE holding centers. Plaintiffs’ allegations describe the pervasive pattern of medical neglect experienced by numerous detainees. Not to mention the difficulty they have in obtaining proper medical attention trapped in overcrowded, volatile settings. Previous reports documented how people have been detained for weeks at a time in abuse. This reality directly contradicts ICE’s public position that these facilities serve as short-term shelters.
Within a month after the controversial memo was released in June, the average length of detention in New York City airport holding rooms more than doubled. It jumped by almost 600%. One person in our community, sadly, spent more than two weeks in detention. This likely breaks ICE’s own previously set boundaries.
“People were not supposed to spend more than 12 hours in there.” – A former ICE official
The Baltimore holding facility, located within the George H. Fallon federal building, has been a subject of criticism. Others have criticized the act for its bad state of affairs. Despite these improvements, the facility only has five cells, each of which can house up to 35 people. Critics have blasted it for its punitive treatment, including not providing enough beds or sufficient medical attention.
Lack of Oversight and Transparency
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of these allegations against ICE is the agency’s apparent ongoing avoidance of accountability. It only follows that lawmakers had a hard time gaining access to ICE facilities for essential inspections. This lack of clarity is a serious red flag about the agency’s transparency. Most remarkably, detention centers in New York City, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Washington were all denied entry to lawmakers.
In response to the reports of ICE’s sweeping campaign, advocacy organizations like Make the Road New York have sued ICE. They further criticize the agency for failing to address oversight deficiencies at its facilities. This blatant lack of accountability has produced ire amongst immigrant rights advocates and legal practitioners.
“There is a total lack of oversight.” – Paige Austin, supervising litigation attorney at Make the Road New York
Poor condition, board-quality communication and legal presence for detainees has deepened the rift. Critics contend that withholding access prevents effective oversight and accountability. This lack of transparency helps ICE evade oversight and operate with almost complete impunity.
“The lack of communication and lack of access to counsel for people in these sites is a way of preventing oversight, transparency and accountability.” – Paige Austin
Increasing Scrutiny on ICE Operations
The scrutiny surrounding ICE’s practices intensified following the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement measures. Critics say that these policies have borne down on law enforcement creating impossible arrest quotas. In doing so, they violate the safety and constitutional rights of detainees.
Dagen, an immigration rights advocate whose work inspired Sanchez’s bill, spoke to the arbitrary nature of these quotas. She explained how ICE’s efforts to meet these targets frequently lead to unsafe conditions in detention.
“They are imposing their own arrest quotas on themselves that are unrealistic and absolutely arbitrary, and then trying to meet those quotas while fully knowing they don’t have the ability to hold people in conditions that are safe and constitutional.” – Dagen
In addition, very disturbing examples have recently been brought to light exposing the long-term incarceration of particularly susceptible people. One documented case involved a 62-year-old man who reportedly spent two and a half months in a New York City holding facility. These scenarios present grave moral issues related to ICE’s operations and compliance with federal standards on detention.
“This is ICE trying to give themselves a buffer to keep holding people in conditions they know are unsafe.” – Amelia Dagen, senior attorney with the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights