The Op-ed the New York Times Editorial Page Refused to Run

On May 6, the New York Times published an editorial about medical care in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.  Under a misleading and frankly inflammatory headline, the editorial followed reporter Nina Bernstein’s May 5 article about the few deaths that have unfortunately occurred in ICE facilities. 

Any death is regrettable.  Given the imbalanced and inaccurate portrayal of the quality of medical care provided to our detainees, we feel compelled to correct the record.

Let’s begin with the facts.  All medical facilities at detention centers owned or contracted by ICE are required to be compliant with healthcare standards from the American Correctional Association, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the Joint Commission, and the ICE National Detention Standards which surpass industry standards in their stringency and commitment to detainee health and comfort.  Many of the state and local facilities unfairly criticized in the editorial adhere to these or comparable standards.

Last year, ICE spent nearly $100 million providing medical care to detainees, double the funding of just five years ago.  While the ICE detainee population has increased by more than 30 percent since 2004, the mortality rate has declined every year.

The number of deaths per 100,000 people is dramatically lower at ICE facilities than in U.S. prisons and jails, not to mention among the general U.S. population.  In 2005, the mortality rate for ICE detainees was 6.8 per 100,000, compared with 540.5 among inmates at U.S. prisons and jails.  For the general population, the rate was even higher: 798.8 and 826 in fiscal years 2005 and 2007, respectively.  ICE’s new oversight procedures have helped decrease the mortality rate even further, to 3.5 in 2007. 

The New York Times acknowledged neither the increased funding for detainee health care nor the decrease in mortality rates.  This is unfortunate.  The public deserves to know that their tax dollars are being used effectively and that we have a commitment to treat detainees with dignity.

These facts would have been especially noteworthy juxtaposed with the extensive article this paper ran on Sunday reporting on the nearly 48 million Americans without health insurance and their struggle to get adequate medical care.  ICE detainees’ health care is equal to or better than that provided to U.S. citizens in custody.

The majority of those entering ICE custody have no medical insurance; for many, their detention marks the first preventive care they have received since arriving in the United States.  Each detainee is medically screened upon arrival and last year, 24 percent were diagnosed and treated for pre-existing chronic conditions.   

ICE routinely provides medical care for life-threatening conditions, such as cardiac arrest, kidney disease, high risk pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, and diabetes.  ICE detainees also receive dental visits, physical exams, sick call visits, prescriptions for drugs filling and mental health visits. 

Staff working with ICE detainees are trained to spot suicide risks and prevention techniques.  In the last 12 months, psychologists and social workers have managed a daily population of over 1,350 seriously mentally ill detainees without a single suicide. 
 
To increase oversight and accountability, ICE established the Detention Facilities Inspection Group.  This independent oversight body reviews and validates detention inspections, ensures consistent application of agency standards and verifies that corrective actions are taken

To ensure compliance with our national detention standards, ICE has contracted with an independent company to place full-time quality assurance professionals at each of our 40 largest facilities..  Smaller facilities are visited on a rotational basis.  When a potential lapse in compliance is identified, a corrective action plan must be implemented and a follow-up review is performed within 90 days.  If the problems are not resolved, ICE will remove its detainees or not renew the contract.  Such action has been taken twice in the past 12 months when ICE was no longer satisfied that the conditions demanded were being met.

Detention of individuals unlawfully in the United States pending removal raises strong opinions and merits a more balanced view.

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