The reduction of inspections in the detention centers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) has set off alarms among specialists and human rights organizations. A CBS News analysis reveals that 15 of the 45 centers with the capacity to house more than 500 people went more than a year without being inspected, while another five did not register any inspection as of the end of June.

The change occurs after ICE modified its supervision policy, going from conducting semiannual inspections to annual or even biennial reviews, depending on the type of facility. For immigration detention experts, this decision weakens a system that already had significant deficiencies.

Less inspections, more worries

The investigation indicates that since 2019, inspections detected at least one deficiency in almost 90% of the centers reviewed. Documented problems include failures in suicide prevention, inadequate food storage, poor medical care and errors in recording incidents.

“It is worrying that they now do it less frequently, because there is a fairly large time gap between evaluations to ensure that health care needs and other conditions are met,” said Dr. Annette Decker, an associate professor at UCLA, in statements reported by the aforementioned media.

Concerns increase in a context in which the population detained by President Donald Trump's immigration policy continues to grow. The report recalls that last year deaths in ICE custody reached their highest level since 2020 and that protests and hunger strikes were recently reported over complaints related to spoiled food and insufficient medical care.

DHS defends the changes

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that the frequency of inspections depends on the size and function of each facility. In a statement cited by the same media, the agency assured that it maintains “a solid and multifaceted compliance program” and stated that all centers will be inspected before the end of the current fiscal year.

However, specialists question the effectiveness of the new scheme. Dora Schriro, a former DHS adviser, warned that “safety measures continue to disappear,” while expert Margo Schlanger noted that frequent inspections force facilities to correct problems before they worsen.

The analysis also highlights that several independent offices tasked with investigating complaints of abuse were dismantled over the past year, further reducing oversight mechanisms. For civil rights organizations, the combination of fewer inspections, less independent oversight and an increase in the detainee population increases the risk of violations of the rights of immigrants in federal custody.

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