July 15, 2010 – 4:49 PM | by: Jamie Colby
Last August, the Obama administration pledged to overhaul how those entering the U.S. illegally would be held and treated at detention centers across the country. Many who enter illegally but have not committed other crimes, are housed at Level 1 facilities run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE while those here illegally who have committed crimes are at more secure ICE detention centers classified as Level 2 or 3.
According to ICE, sometimes facilities provide housing for both but these populations are never mixed. The non-criminal, lower risk detainees could soon see the biggest changes in living conditions– 28 changes proposed in total – while even those at more secure detention facilities could see some, like improved access to legal libraries and other changes that will not however, according to ICE, put the public at risk.
News of the proposed changes came when The Houston Chronicle published a leaked, internal email from Corrections Corporation of America or CCA, a private contractor working for ICE. Check out the email below that lists the changes proposed. ICE confirms to Fox these are the improvements proposed by CCA that it is now considering.
The ACLU and other immigrant activist groups say upgrading conditions for detainees is a start, but most working on behalf of illegal immigrants want more sweeping reform. ACLU staff attorney Vanita Gupta tells Fox “some of them actually will make a difference in the living conditions of detainees, who I have to remind everyone, are not criminals.”
But Chris Crane the president of AFGE 118 Council, the union representing ICE officers says “we have to take every precaution possible to make sure that they are safe and that our employees and officers inside these facilities are safe”. Again, ICE tells Fox it hasn’t decided yet which of the CCA proposals will be approved and any that are, ICE insists will not put the public at risk. How about the cost of making these upgrades to detention? CCA picks up the cost, not taxpayers.
My producer Kathleen Foster and I were granted access to a Level 1 ICE facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey to observe both current conditions and some of the changes that are being tried out there. The healthcare provided was extensive, special meals are already available for those with dietary or religious needs, there’s a hair salon for the female detainees, a library including law books and access to lexis nexis legal cases as well as fitness and movie nights.
The ICE administrator that took us on our tour explained in his experience keeping detainees calm and healthy reduces the risk of disturbances. Take a look at what we observed and tell us what you think.
