Laurie Woodward Garcia protests conditions at detention centers outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office during the new coronavirus pandemic on May 29 in Plantation, Fla.

Laurie Woodward Garcia protests conditions at detention centers outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office during the new coronavirus pandemic on May 29 in Plantation, Fla. Lynne Sladky / AP

ICE Struggles to Protect Detained Immigrants as Coronavirus Spreads in Its Facilities

Hundreds of employees are also calling out from work as they say physical distancing is impossible and personal protective equipment is in insufficient supply.

Immigrants held in federal detention have inadequate access to equipment and supplies to protect them from the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a new report and accounts from inside the federal facilities, and those who have tested positive for COVID-19 are not being quarantined or isolated from the rest of the population. 

Cases among the detained population at Immigration and Customs Enforcement have skyrocketed in recent weeks, spiking by nearly 500% from late April to late May. There are now nearly 2,500 cases, according to the most recent figures from ICE, and two immigrants have died. 

In surveying employees at detention facilities around the country, the Homeland Security Department's inspector general found ICE was failing to implement physical distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. The agency generally keeps 50-75 detainees in each “pod” in its facilities, creating “unique challenges for detention centers to mitigate the risk of infection and transmission of COVID-19,” the IG said. As a result, ICE did not always separate those who were symptomatic or had tested positive from the rest of the population.

“The major challenges [sic] is having enough places to properly quarantine detainees,” one ICE officer told the IG. “Six of the dorms are open and do not have individual cells.”

The IG did not speak to detainees or visit sites personally. The investigators said their work was ongoing and a “more comprehensive” report would follow. 

Testing also appears lacking at ICE facilities. As of May 26, when the IG last recorded data, more than 50% of detainee tests came back positive for COVID-19. That has since improved, but the positive rate is still at 28%, well above the national average. ICE officials told lawmakers at a hearing earlier this month the agency would begin testing immigrants as they entered facilities. Most ICE facilities only for migrant detainees could test on-site, while only slightly more than half of facilities that had a mix of detainees and inmates could do so. One-in-five of those mixed facilities had no testing at all, the IG found.

The detainee population at ICE has decreased by 27% since April 1, in part due to the agency intentionally releasing some immigrants and court orders to let others go. Not all facilities had implemented ICE’s agency-wide guidance in dealing with the pandemic, with just 83% of facilities ever receiving it. 

The agency is taking precautions for staffing shortfalls, as 850 employees at the facilities the IG reviewed had either gotten sick themselves or were forced to stay home on quarantine. Forty-five ICE employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Officials told the IG they had contingencies in place for reduced staffing levels, including longer shifts and requesting staff from other facilities. 

Despite ICE's failures, employees overwhelmingly told the IG their facilities were adequately prepared for the pandemic. They had conducted risk assessments for potential exposure and 90% said they had enough masks. One-third of facilities, however, reported having insufficient hand sanitizer for detainees. 

ICE Chief Financial Officer Stephen Roncone classified the report as “overwhelmingly positive,” saying he was pleased with the IG's "positive recognition" of the steps the agency has taken to prevent the spread of the virus. Roncone noted the IG did not make any recommendations nor did it independently verify the responses it received from its survey. He also criticized the auditors for limiting "the usefulness of the report" by failing to disclose the specific facilities at which "possible opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of ICE operations" exist.

“Although ICE law enforcement officers and agents continue to fulfill ICE's enforcement mission by prioritizing enforcement action against those individuals who threaten national security and public safety, ICE is firmly committed to ensure the health and safety of individuals in its custody, its employees, contractors and the general public,” Roncone said. 

While the IG did not talk to detainees as part of its review, the Miami Herald on Tuesday reported on court documents in which ICE officials conceded that the migrants at multiple facilities in south Florida had sought to sound the alarm about individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 being mixed in with the rest of the population. The detainees said they did not have sufficient access to masks, soap or sanitizer, and there was no social distancing taking place.

ICE told the court it had freed up more money to purchase additional supplies. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ordered ICE to stop placing COVID-19 positive detainees in the same areas as healthy individuals. The detainees wrote letters to the court complaining of poor conditions, a lack of safety protocols and an inability to get in touch with deportation officers who were instructed to stay away from facilities during the pandemic. 

Also on Tuesday, a group of several immigration advocacy groups and immigrants currently detained spoke to the media about contract ICE facilities run by GEO and using toxic chemical disinfectants. The sprays deploy harmful chemicals that cause dangerous side effects, the groups and individuals said, such as frequent nose bleeding and respiratory distress. They, too, decried unsafe conditions related to the lack of personal protective equipment and the intermingling of positive and non-positive detainees. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.