Illegal immigrant detainees served spoiled food: IG report

Illegal immigrants being detained by Homeland Security at one California facility were being served spoiled lunch meats, were stuck using dirty showers and were faced with broken telephones, according to a new emergency alert Wednesday from the department’s inspector general.

The food was so bad that the illegal immigrants rinsed the meat with water before eating it, investigators said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the problems have already been corrected.

The inspector general also said high-risk illegal immigrants were being mixed with low-risk detainees at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, California. That runs counter to ICE politics designed to lower the risk of flare-ups.

“This type of mingling may allow a less restrictive living environment for detainees, but it skirts the ICE detention standards’ prohibition, which is designed to ’protect the community, staff, contractors, volunteers, and detainees from harm,’” Inspector General John Roth said.

The government’s treatment of immigration detainees has long been a thorny subject, with activist groups filing lawsuits demanding the closure of some facilities and better conditions in others. The activists have objected in particular to ICE’s use of private, state or local facilities, which the advocacy groups say often don’t meet high standards.

Theo Lacy is run by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The number of immigration detainees varies, but stood at 528 detainees as of Wednesday.

Investigators, in an unannounced visit to Theo Lacy in November, found a number of problems.

“Detainees were being served, and reported being regularly served, meat that appeared to be spoiled. Orange County Sheriffs Department (OCSD) staff members are not handling meat safely, including meat being sent to other ICE detention facilities,” Mr. Roth said.

As for the facilities, Mr. Roth said detainees are required to clean their own showers, but the cleanser they’re given doesn’t combat mold. Investigators included photos of moldy showers in their report.

Broken phones also restricted detainees’ ability to call out from the facility.

ICE, in a statement, said it’s already fixed the food, bathroom and phone issues. Officials also met with the jail’s staff to improve documentation of detainee complaints.