Senator Murray Requests Review of ICE Medical Services, Effects of Detention Following Concerning Reports

Murray has made clear the excessive use of solitary confinement in ICE facilities is completely unacceptable, secured language to ensure stronger oversight of federal detention facilities in government funding bill

ICYMI: Senator Murray, Colleagues Urge ICE and DHS to End Misuse of Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention

Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter yesterday to the U.S. Comptroller General at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a comprehensive review of the quality and accessibility of medical services for individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. 

“ICE has a responsibility to maintain safe, humane conditions for detained noncitizens who may be subject to removal while they await the resolution of their cases or who have been ordered removed. Although three different sets of standards are applied at facilities housing detained noncitizens, these standards all require certain services be provided to individuals in custody,” Murray wrote in the letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. 

“This includes initial medical, dental, and mental health screenings; routine and preventative care, specialty care, emergency care, and hospitalizations; timely responses to medical complaints; and language services when needed during any appointment, treatment, or consultation,” the letter continues. 

In the letter, Murray asked GAO to assess:

1. What is known about the effects of detention on an individual’s mental and physical health? 
2. What barriers exist for detained noncitizens in accessing care, including receiving care at nearby hospitals for medical emergencies and specialized services, and how is ICE addressing any barriers to accessing care?
3. Does the quality and accessibility of medical services differ between dedicated and non-dedicated facilities? 
4. Does the quality and accessibility of medical services differ for individuals in segregation? 
5. To what extent do oversight mechanisms indicate that detention facilities are complying with ICE detention standards for medical care?
6. To what extent has ICE established letters of understanding (LOU) with offsite providers (e.g. hospitals) that treat detained noncitizens, and how does ICE ensure providers adhere to LOU requirements that they provide appropriate care?

In April, Murray sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner calling for ICE to end the misuse of solitary confinement in immigration detention and establish meaningful alternatives that would phase out its use. In the letter, Murray and her colleagues requested additional information on ICE’s use of solitary confinement and the steps DHS and ICE plan to take to limit and phase out the practice.

A recent report from Physicians for Human Rights found that many immigrants the group interviewed were placed in solitary confinement while in ICE detention over minor disciplinary offenses or “as a form of retaliation for participating in hunger strikes or for submitting complaints.” The report also found that from 2018 to 2023, ICE placed people in solitary confinement more than 14,000 times—leaving them in a cell without human contact for more than 22 hours per day. Once in solitary confinement, individuals have endured additional punishment, including being denied access to legal visits, receiving reduced portion sizes at meals, and being forced to sleep on cement or steel platforms.

Senator Murray is an original cosponsor of the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, which would set humane standards for detention facilities, increase oversight to eliminate abuses, and better protect the civil rights of immigrant detainees, among other things. Additionally, as Appropriations Chair, Murray secured language in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024—which was signed into law on March 23rd—to ensure stronger oversight of federal detention facilities and provisions to increase transparency. Murray also fought to ensure the multitiered oversight infrastructure at DHS was funded in the final bills—pushing back against House Republicans’ attempts to get rid of important oversight resources—and successfully secured a $5.25 million increase in funding for the DHS Office of Inspector General, which conducts unannounced inspections of ICE detention facilities across the country.

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

Dear Comptroller General Dodaro:

I write to request the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a comprehensive review of the provision of health care services, including mental and physical health, to individuals in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Specifically, I request that GAO review ICE and its contractors’ compliance with ICE’s detention standards and other relevant policies related to the provision of care for individuals in custody.

ICE has a responsibility to maintain safe, humane conditions for detained noncitizens who may be subject to removal while they await the resolution of their cases or who have been ordered removed. Although three different sets of standards are applied at facilities housing detained noncitizens, these standards all require certain services be provided to individuals in custody. This includes initial medical, dental, and mental health screenings; routine and preventative care, specialty care, emergency care, and hospitalizations; timely responses to medical complaints; and language services when needed during any appointment, treatment, or consultation. 

GAO previously examined the provision and oversight of medical care in immigration detention facilities. Given concerns reported by individuals in ICE custody regarding access to and quality of medical services, I specifically request GAO assess:

1. What is known about the effects of detention on an individual’s mental and physical health? 
2. What barriers exist for detained noncitizens in accessing care, including receiving care at nearby hospitals for medical emergencies and specialized services, and how is ICE addressing any barriers to accessing care?
3. Does the quality and accessibility of medical services differ between dedicated and non-dedicated facilities? 
4. Does the quality and accessibility of medical services differ for individuals in segregation? 
5. To what extent do oversight mechanisms indicate that detention facilities are complying with ICE detention standards for medical care?
6. To what extent has ICE established letters of understanding (LOU) with offsite providers (e.g. hospitals) that treat detained noncitizens, and how does ICE ensure providers adhere to LOU requirements that they provide appropriate care?

In assessing these questions, I request that GAO conduct case studies of a variety of types of facilities housing detained noncitizens to identify whether there are disparities in the provision of medical care across facilities.

Sincerely,

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