NEW! Violations of ICE Detention Standards at South Texas ICE Processing Center

News from the Department of Homeland Security OIG Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. The Latest DHS OIG report is available on our website. Office of Public Affairs E: dhs-oig.officepublicaffairs@oig.dhs.gov                         OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL l DHS WWW.OIG.DHS.GOV  l TWITTER: @DHSOIG                 Violations of ICE Detention Standards at South Texas ICE Processing Center During our unannounced inspection of South Texas in Pearsall, Texas, we identified violations of ICE detention standards that compromised the health, safety, and rights of detainees. South Texas complied with standards for legal services, the voluntary work program, and detainee classification and provided sufficient medical care to detainees. However, we found that South Texas did not meet standards for grievances, segregation, COVID-19 response, or communications with detainees. Specifically, the facility was late responding to grievances and did not document grievance resolutions. Grievances included complaints about mistreatment by staff, some of which the facility substantiated. Also, South Texas did not consistently provide required services for detainees in segregation, including access to legal materials and razors; nor were we able to confirm the facility consistently provided access to legal calls, mail, commissary, and linen exchange due to missing documentation of these activities in facility records. In addressing COVID-19, South Texas did not consistently enforce precautions including use of masks and social distancing but did begin providing COVID-19 vaccinations to detainees through partnerships with local governments. Further, ICE and the facility did not consistently respond to detainee requests in a timely manner and ICE did not log requests sent by detainees using paper forms. Finally, we determined the diminished detainee population at South Texas resulted in ICE paying roughly $18 million for unused bed space for a 1-year period under a guaranteed minimum contract. Read Report No. OIG-22-40 DHS OIG Reports by Category Fiscal Year    2022 DHS Agency     CBP    ICE    FEMA    Management    TSA    USCG    USCIS    USSS  OTHERS    Semiannual Report (SAR)       Contact Us   |    Manage Subscriptions   |    Unsubscribe All   |   Help This email was sent to linus.stotts.epicblog@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: DHS Office of Inspector General · 245 Murray Drive, SW, Building 410 · Washington, DC 20528 · 1-202-254-4100