I joined a team of USA TODAY Network reporters to investigate the state of ICE’s massive, growing detention system. What we found is a system that’s supposed to civil in nature operating much like a punitive prison system. Here’s the first part: usatoday.com/in-depth/news/…
We also looked at the private prison industry, which is pumping record money into the Trump administration and reaping record benefits from that investment. They run 19 (out of 24) ICE facilities opened since 2017 and now hold 75% of all ICE detainees: usatoday.com/in-depth/news/…
We scrutinized the inspection process of ICE facilities. We identified over 18,000 violations of detention standards since 2015, but more than 90% of facilities pass inspection and ICE won’t say how often they’ve fined or punished facilities.
Inspectors told Congress that unannounced inspections of ICE detention centers are best. The @GEOGroup and @CoreCivic both said they’d welcome unannounced inspections. ICE’s response? They could be “a disruption” for the facilities.
We toured seven ICE detention centers from Colorado to Texas to Florida, getting an unprecedented look inside. We saw detainees in red and orange jumpsuits, some that read “Inmate” on the back, and conducted interviews using video chats from inside the facilities.
We interviewed 35 current and former ICE detainees. They all told similar stories of abusive guards who frequently use physical force, order detainees into solitary confinement for minor offenses, and lob racist slurs at detainees.
I spoke with Suzanne Moore, a Jamaican green card holder who spent 9 months in ICE detention at the Baker County Jail in Florida. She said medical staff routinely ran out of the medication she needs to keep her cancer in remission. Her cancer returned this year.
I spoke with Erickson Martinez, a Colombian who was detained at Baker. “They don’t care if it’s civil. They treat you like a criminal inmate. If you get into trouble you’re going into the box. They pepper spray you. They do whatever they want.
And I spoke with Isaiah Mobeana, a South African who spent so much time in ICE detention centers that he got married in one. He said guards called him “Africa” and mocked him when doctors diagnosed him with anxiety in detention. “They talk to your like you’re worthless.” 
