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US considers ending use of private immigration detention facilities
Source: The Guardian
US considers ending use of private immigration detention facilities
Department of Homeland Security, which currently detains
more than 33,000 people, could follow justice department
in phasing out privately run centers
Oliver Laughland in New York
Monday 29 August 2016 22.50 BST
The Obama administration could end its use of private immigration detention centres, the US homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson, said on Monday.
The announcement follows a landmark decision by the US Department of Justice to phase out private prisons, after a stinging independent review found they were drastically less safe than publicly operated centres. The move, made earlier in August, led to intense pressure on the homeland security department to conduct a similar review, as it relies more heavily on the use of privatised facilities.
Johnson said his department’s advisory council has been tasked to examine whether “immigration detention operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should move in the same direction” as the justice department. The panel will have until the end of November to make recommendations, and will consider “all factors … including fiscal considerations” related to ICE’s use of private centres.
The agency’s use of private detention centres has long been criticised by human rights advocates. An investigation published by Human Rights Watch in July found evidence of substandard medical care at a number of facilities, while protests at privately operated family detention centres in Texas have become commonplace.
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Department of Homeland Security, which currently detains
more than 33,000 people, could follow justice department
in phasing out privately run centers
Oliver Laughland in New York
Monday 29 August 2016 22.50 BST
The Obama administration could end its use of private immigration detention centres, the US homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson, said on Monday.
The announcement follows a landmark decision by the US Department of Justice to phase out private prisons, after a stinging independent review found they were drastically less safe than publicly operated centres. The move, made earlier in August, led to intense pressure on the homeland security department to conduct a similar review, as it relies more heavily on the use of privatised facilities.
Johnson said his department’s advisory council has been tasked to examine whether “immigration detention operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should move in the same direction” as the justice department. The panel will have until the end of November to make recommendations, and will consider “all factors … including fiscal considerations” related to ICE’s use of private centres.
The agency’s use of private detention centres has long been criticised by human rights advocates. An investigation published by Human Rights Watch in July found evidence of substandard medical care at a number of facilities, while protests at privately operated family detention centres in Texas have become commonplace.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/29/us-immigration-detention-facilities-private