POLITICO
DHS ending contracts with 2 local jails that house detained immigrants
The decision is part of a broader reevaluation by the Biden administration of the federal government’s approach to these facilities.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer looks on during an operation. | Gregory Bull/AP Photo
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The Department of Homeland Security is moving to halt detention of immigrants in two county jails under federal investigation, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The decision involves jails in Massachusetts and Georgia and is part of a broader reevaluation by the Biden administration of the federal government’s approach to these facilities.
Adam KlasfeldMay 20th, 2021, 1:13 pm
Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities had become the subject of chilling reports of abuses, including a whistleblower complaint first reported by Law&Crime last year alleging mass hysterectomies at one of them. Federal investigations followed, and on Thursday, the Biden administration reportedly ordered the agency to terminate contracts with both of them.
According to the
Washington Post, Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas ordered ICE to shut down Bristol County Sheriff’s Office in Massachusetts and to cut ties with Irwin County Detention Center in rural Georgia “as soon as possible.”
The latter endeavor might be more complicated by the fact the Georgia institution is county owned but run by a private contractor, the newspaper reported.
The Massachusetts facility has been accused of overcrowding and overall inhumane conditions. Detainees at the facility in Georgia reported being subjected to.
A detention facility in Georgia where women claim they were subjected to unwanted medical procedures and a Massachusetts jail that has drawn complaints of inhumane conditions will no longer be used to detain immigrants, the Biden administration said Thursday.