Durbin Amps Up Oversight Of Trump Administration's Immigration Detention Expansion
Durbin cites reports of detainee mistreatment, inadequate medical care, overcrowding in letters to three major private detention contractors, DHS, DOD, and GAO
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, escalated congressional oversight of the Trump Administration’s aggressive expansion of immigration detention, which has created a major financial boon for private prison companies. This expansion raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and the humane treatment of detained individuals, particularly in light of repeated reports of detainee mistreatment, inadequate medical care, overcrowded conditions, and revolving door hiring practices between the federal government and private prison companies.
In letters to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and three major private contractors operating immigration facilities—CoreCivic, the GEO Group, and LaSalle Corrections, Durbin seeks clarity on the spending of taxpayer dollars, existing safeguards and accountability measures, and protection of detainees’ rights.
In his letters to the three major private contractors, Durbin wrote: “Given the human and financial stakes involved, it is imperative that the Senate Judiciary Committee thoroughly understands how you operate your facilities, how public funds are allocated, what oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability, how the rights of those in your custody are protected, what changes your company made in your policies and practices to accommodate the needs of the current Administration, and the company’s role in influencing detention conditions.”
In his letters to DOD and DHS, Durbin wrote: “This Administration’s efforts to effectuate a mass deportation scheme by expanding immigration detention to military installations is ill-conceived and a colossal waste of resources. In addition to unlawfully transferring and detaining immigrants at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay—where the Administration has spent approximately $40 million on operations and detained individuals have reported horrific detention conditions —the Administration intends to detain immigrants on military bases throughout the United States. Though immigrants have been held at military bases in limited circumstances in the past, the apparent scope of this Administration’s plans to use installations within the United States for long-term detention and removal of immigrants is both unprecedented and a dangerous misuse of national security resources that will impact military readiness and preparedness. Congress remains in the dark about other plans the Administration may have to expand detention, including potential deals worth billions of dollars with defense contractors to accelerate the removal and detention of immigrants.”
In his letter to GAO, Durbin wrote: “It is vital the Senate Judiciary Committee obtain real-time information about ICE’s detention programs, including GAO’s perspectives and ongoing data analysis. Therefore, I request periodic briefings or other interim products while GAO conducts its study and a final report summarizing GAO’s findings.”
For a PDF of the letter to GAO, click here.
For a PDF of the letter to DOD and DHS, click here.
For a PDF of the letter to CoreCivic, click here.
For a PDF of the letter to GEO Group, click here.
For a PDF of the letter to LaSalle Corrections, click here.
The oversight requests are the latest steps in Durbin’s ongoing inquiry into medical and mental health care in DHS’s facilities. Durbin released a revealing investigative report on inadequate care in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities and pressed for further investigation into deficient medical care in CBP detention facilities after whistleblower reports alleged systemic failures by DHS to ensure proper oversight of its medical care contractor.
Durbin continues to actively investigate care in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, which he initiated with letters to ICE and the Government Accountability Office. A June 2024 report from the American Civil Liberties Union, Physicians for Human Rights, and American Oversight found that 95 percent of documented deaths in ICE custody between 2017-2021 were likely preventable.
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