Legal advocates for detained immigrants at the CoreCivic ICE Dilley center and other company facilities face difficult jobs in the face of restrictions and growing numbers of detainees.

Volunteer immigration attorneys and paralegals must submit to thorough security checks every time the enter the facility. ICE has allegedly been attempting to impose “gag orders” on visitors and has even prohibited the media from entering CoreCivic immigrant detention centers.

The Push to Detain More Asylum Seekers

Faced with growing criticism, the current administration has been considering a a change in policy that would detain more immigrant parents with their children. This comes in the wake of a recent directive from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, requiring ICE to put all immigrant refugees into detention camps for as long as it takes for their cases to come before an immigration judge.

For many of these refugees, the wait could be years. At the same time, it is not known how this new immigration policy will affect families, as children are legally protected from having to undergo long periods in detention under current regulations.

Many of these families are being held at the CoreCivic ICE Dilley center in Texas. With a capacity of 2,400 women and their children, this facility is the largest in the U.S., and if the Administration gets its way, that number could more than quadruple – and so could the problems.

CoreCivic ICE Dilley Center and Others

As Texas makes up more than half of the U.S.-Mexico border, it should come as no surprise that most of the CoreCivic detention centers are located in the Lone Star State. In addition to the CoreCivic ICE Dilley center – officially, the South Texas Residential Center – there are four other Texas facilities operated by CoreCivic:

• Houston Processing Center (Houston, TX)
• Laredo Processing Center (Laredo, TX)
• T. Don Hutto Residential Center (Taylor, TX)
• Webb County Detention Center (Laredo, TX)

All of these facilities, as well as those in Southern California, have come under scrutiny in recent months due to alleged abuses and violations of forced labor laws. Unfortunately, confirming these allegations is becoming increasingly difficult as ICE imposes more restrictions on visitors – and paid employees of the facilities are under pressure to refrain from discussing anything they hear or see going on inside a detention center.

“The Truth Will Out”

Despite severe restrictions and attempts to impose “gag orders,” two reputable physicians who have toured the CoreCivic ICE Dilley center report significant problems that place children in danger. These physicians, who work as consultants for the Department of Homeland Security, report difficulties in recruiting and retaining medical and mental health workers.

Furthermore, being as many CoreCivic facilities are located far from the nearest tows and cities, ready access to specialists and emergency care is all but non-existent.

In response to these allegations, ICE claims that the observations come from “non-clinicians with very limited access and knowledge to the full range of services and care provided.”

Top Class Actions can guide those who witnessed experienced forced labor to attorneys who can help and assist witnesses to such offenses find a lawyer should they want to report what they have seen.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.