Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Detention Deaths topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee member says more than 40 people have died in ICE custody, cites GEO-run facilities
Summary
A committee member told the House Judiciary Committee that "more than 40 people have died while in ICE custody," with about 30% occurring at GEO Group–operated facilities, and described reported substandard conditions and failures to meet ICE detention standards.
A committee member told the House Judiciary Committee that "more than 40 people have died while in ICE custody," and said roughly 30% of those deaths occurred at facilities operated by the private contractor GEO Group.
The member described accounts of "dangerously substandard conditions," including mold, outbreaks such as chickenpox, and inadequate food and water at GEO-run facilities. "Facilities operated by GEO have failed to comply with ICE's own national detention standards," the committee member said, adding that government reviewers have cited "incompetent leadership" and "problematic medical care." The member also identified Delaney Hall as one facility operated by GEO.
The remarks were offered as part of a broader critique of the committee's oversight of detention operations. The speaker said local officials and state authorities have sued or pressured GEO to allow inspection; the New Jersey attorney general, the member said, successfully secured a court order requiring health inspectors to be allowed into a GEO facility.
The committee member urged unannounced congressional oversight as a remedy and criticized the committee's majority for not calling GEO, ICE, CBP, DOJ or White House witnesses to testify. The speaker concluded by saying oversight must be enforced to prevent further deaths in custody.
