Weeks after a Chinese immigrant had a seizure at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility and died in late September, the ICE contractor who runs the detention center posted a job online.
They were looking for a doctor.
Among other duties, the Utah-based private prison company Management and Training Corporation (MTC) said they were seeking a part-time physician to document detainees’ medical histories, give emergency medical aid and “monitor all potential catastrophic illnesses.”
“We’re looking for a dedicated doctor to bring compassionate care to a correctional setting,” the posting read.
The company’s jobs posting comes amid a nationwide push by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to hire dozens of health workers as the Trump administration faces growing outcry over the growing number of immigrants dying inside its detention centers.
Diana Shaw, a former-DHS Assistant Inspector General, said the Imperial County facility has a history of violating ICE’s own standards when it comes to medical care. She said hiring more medical staff was a positive step but said the department would need to go further if they continue to detain more and more people.
“With populations of the size that we're seeing, it's going to require more than just additional staffing,” said Shaw.
Over email, an MTC spokesperson said the facility’s medical staff included licensed nurses and doctors and was committed to “meeting the highest standards of safety and medical care.”
An ICE spokesperson declined to comment, referring questions to MTC.
2025 has become the deadliest year in decades for people detained by federal immigration authorities as U.S. President Donald Trump rushes to mass-detain tens of thousands of immigrants and remove them from the country.
An NPR analysis last month found at least 20 people have died in ICE custody so far, including from tuberculosis, strokes and respiratory failure.
Many people currently held in U.S. detention centers have never even been charged with a crime. Entering the country illegally is a civil offense, not a criminal one.
Huabing Xie, the Chinese immigrant who died in Imperial County in late September, was at least the 17th person to die in ICE custody this year. The agency has not said how old Xie was.
According to ICE, staff members used a defibrillator on Xie and administered CPR but were unable to keep them alive. The agency declined requests for further details about the circumstances of Xie’s death in October, citing an ongoing investigation.
Imperial County’s federal detention center has repeatedly failed to provide adequate medical care over recent years, according to state and federal inspectors and immigrants’ rights advocates.
The detention center is owned by the city of Holtville and holds a maximum of 782 people. ICE says it pays MTC $155.65 per day for each detainee to manage the facility.
In 2020, Shaw led a surprise inspection of the facility. They found moldy, rusty showers and expired food in the kitchens. Staff were checking the health of detainees at night while they were sleeping, without actually speaking to them — sometimes taking less than 30 seconds for each person.
Shaw’s team also found the medical team was short-staffed, with only six full-time nurses instead of the goal of nine full-time and one part-time nurse.
“They were really struggling at the time, and that certainly raised concerns,” Shaw said.
Officials at the detention center have said they struggle to hire medical staff because of its location in a rural community. Many people in Imperial County broadly have limited access to healthcare.
The facility took some steps to correct those concerns, according to a report the following year.
But California’s Department of Justice found similar staffing issues in a report earlier this year. State officials said the detention center did not have a medical director and was still missing several nurses.
Immigrants detained at the facility and their advocates have raised repeated concerns about what that means for the health of detainees.
In 2022, a group of immigrants filed a federal complaint alleging “torturous conditions” inside the facility. One of the detainees needed emergency spinal cord surgery, but his requests for help were initially dismissed by medical staff, the complaint said.
Other detainees have reported being denied care for pain or access to specialists as recently as this year, according to Imperial Valley immigrants’ rights advocates who have visited people inside the facility since 2022.
“We have spoken directly to people whose pain has been ignored,” said Marina Arteaga, Imperial Liberation Collaborative organizer. “There is a lack of medical care throughout the facility.”
Arteaga said they have been denied access to visit detainees since August.
In an email, Emily Lawhead, an MTC spokesperson, said the detention center provided “timely and compassionate care” to all detainees.
“We take every medical concern seriously and ensure that appropriate care and oversight are provided,” Lawhead wrote.
ICE and MTC are facing calls for greater accountability over Xie’s death in custody.
Immigrants’ rights groups have asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Imperial County Public Health Department to investigate.
Shaw said this could be a good time for the Inspector General’s office to examine the facility again.
“It sounds like there are certainly some risk factors there that would make it a good candidate,” she said. “It's really important to get it right, because when you don't, people get hurt.”
