A new report says conditions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities in San Diego, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are below par. The detention center in Otay Mesa houses undocumented migrants during legal proceedings. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
The report by the Office of Inspector General says four facilities, including San Diego’s, do not provide timely health care.
It says confinement conditions violate the rules. And the report says the facilities do not provide a process for detainees to report abuse or civil rights violations. In one case, a Guard who sexually assaulted a female detainee was fired but never prosecuted.
Many detainees are not given privacy to make legal phone calls. Some are punished by having their hour of recreation time taken away, which violates federal standards.
The Office of Inspector General spent 10 weeks at the San Diego detention center to conduct the audit. The Office has made 13 recommendations for improvement.
The report says Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have agreed to correct nine items. Officials at the San Diego detention center could not be reached for comment.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
