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An unannounced inspection of a privately run, for-profit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison in California uncovered “serious violations,” according to a newly released report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general, including “nooses in detainee cells,” falsified medical exams, and prison officials placing a disabled man who asked for administrative segregation into disciplinary segregation. “Based on our file review,” the report states, “in those 9 days, the detainee never left his wheelchair to sleep in a bed or brush his teeth.”
During the surprise May visit to the Adelanto facility—owned and operated by prison profiteers GEO Group—the IG’s office found nooses hanging in 15 of the 20 cells that officials inspected. While some detainees told inspectors “the braided sheets can be easily unfurled to temporarily create privacy within the cell,” they constitute a suicide risk nonetheless. Yet, the report continues, “the contract guard escorting us during our visit removed the first noose found in a detainee cell, but stopped after realizing many cells we visited had nooses hanging from the vents.”
“ICE has not taken seriously the recurring problem of detainees hanging bedsheet nooses at the Adelanto Center; this deficiency violates ICE standards,” the report said about the prison’s lax standards. “According to the guard escorting us, the nooses are a daily issue and very widespread. When we asked two contract guards who oversaw the housing units why they did not remove the bed sheets, they echoed it was not a high priority.” Not a high priority, despite a man dying by hanging at Adelanto last year.
In March 2017, 32-year-old Osmar Epifanio Gonzalez-Gadba died six days after attempting suicide at Adelanto. Gonzalez-Gadba was found hanging in his cell and after efforts to resuscitate him, was transferred to a hospital and placed on life support. “He never regained consciousness.” But “according to a senior ICE official, however, local ICE management at Adelanto does not believe it is necessary or a priority to address the braided sheets issue.” But even basic health needs aren’t a priority for the prison, either.
One detainee complained about being on a waitlist to see one of the prison’s two dentists for so long that multiple teeth fell out. “When we asked one of the dentists why fillings were not performed, he said he barely has time to do cleanings and screening, so as a result he does not do fillings,” the report continued, stating that the dentist “suggested detainees could use string from their socks to floss if they were dedicated to dental hygiene.” How considerate.
The report is the second this week from the DHS inspector general’s office detailing inhumane treatment of immigrant detainees at the hands of guards and others. That report found that during the height of the “zero tolerance” policy, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) locked up hundreds of migrant children in border facilities for longer than the 72 hours maximum allowed. One child was locked up for 12 days, while another was locked up for 25 days.
The disabled detainee was similarly neglected and left to languish by his guards. “During our visit, we saw that the bedding and toiletries were still in the bag from his arrival. We also observed medical staff just looking in his cell and stamping his medical visitation sheet rather than evaluating the detainee, as required by ICE standards. After our notification, the Medical Health Administrator moved the detainee from segregation to medical for observation.” So had it not been for the inspectors, how much longer would he have been kept there?
“This is one of the most scathing reports that the Office of the Inspector General has ever issued about an immigration detention center,” the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Michael Kaufman told The Washington Post. “It reveals that it’s long past time for the federal government to ensure the safety of detainees there.” But, the administration has instead taken millions of dollars from other programs to continue bloating up the out-of-control mass deportation machine.
