UNITED STATES SENATE
WASHINGTON. DC 20510-2105

ELIZABETH WARREN
MASSACHUSETTS

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July 11, 2019
The Honorable Mark Morgan
Acting Director
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12111 St., SW
Washington D.C. 20536
Dear Acting Director Morgan:
I write seeking answers regarding reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has
signed new contracts for three for-profi t immigration detention centers in Mississippi and
Louisiana. If the reports are correct, it appears that ICE has decided to place immigrant detainees
at these facilities without providing proper notice, despite the fact that they suffer from a myriad
of health and safety problems.
On July 9, 2019, Mother Jones reported that ICE last month began detaining migrants at three
facilities operated by for-profit prison companies: Adams County Correctional Center in
Mississippi, Catahoula Correctional Center in Louisiana, and South Louisiana ICE Processing
Center in Louisiana. 1 An ICE spokesman confirmed the use of these facilities.2 ICE contracted
with these facilities despite numerous health and safety problems in recent years at these
facilities.
A 2016 report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) highlighted dangerous conditions at Adams
County Correctional Center, owned by CoreCivic, one of the largest for-profit prison operators
in the country. In 2012, inmate dissatisfaction over " inadequate medical care, substandard food,
and disrespectful staff members" led to a riot that killed a correctional officer, Catlin Carithers,
and injured 20 other people.3 The DOJ report indicated that four years later, "the facility was
plagued by the same significant deficiencies" as in 2012.4 A 2016 investigation by The Nation

1

Mother Jones, "ICE Just Quietly Opened Three New Detention Centers, Flouting Congress' Limits,"
Noah Lanard, Jul. 9, 2019, https://www. motherjones.com/pol itics/2019/07/ice-just-quietly-opened-threenew-detention-centers-floutin g-congress-1 im its/.
2
Id.
3 Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, "Audit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons'
Contract w ith CoreCivic, Inc. to Operate the Adams County Correctiona Center in Natchez, Mississippi,"
Dec . 2016, https://oig.j ustice.gov/reports/2016/a 1708.pdf#page= 1 ("DOJ OIG Report"); The Intercept,
"Fata I Corrections," Janosch Delcker, Dec. 17, 2016, https://theintercept.com/2016/ 12/ 17/inside-thedeadly-mississippi-riot-that-pushed-the-j ustice-department-to-rein-in-private-prisons/.
4 DOJ OIG Report, supra note 3, https://oig.j ustice.gov/reports/2016/a 1708.pdf#page= l.

 found "three cases \Vl1ere imn1igrant inn1ates died following poor medical treat1ne11t at Adams
Coltnty." 5
In May of this year, the 13ureall of Prisons (BQJ>) announced it would stop using this facility to
house federal prisoners. 6 Yet, just two n1onths later, ICE has decided to detain migrants there.
Tl1e circumsta11ces sun·ounding ICE's use of these facilities are very concerning. ICE did not
publicly disclose the use oftl1e Adams County or Catal1oula centers, confirming tl1eir use only in
response to the JJublic reports. CoreCivic announced that BOP did not re11ew its co11tract for
Adatns County Con·ectional Ce11ter, 7 but did not annol111ce that it had later contracted \Vitl1 ICE
or that it had begun to move migrants into the facility. GEO Group disclosed in April that ICE
vvould soo11 begin using its Soutl1 Louisiana ICE Processing Center, 8 but the agency did not
disclose that fact.
According to Laltra Rivera, an attorney witl1 the Southe111 Poverty Law Center, clients
transfe11·ed to Adatns County ··are still not sho\.ving up in ICE's detainee locator tool." 9
I.;-urthcrmore, she has not been notified by ICE oftl1c tra11sfer, suggesting that the agency J1as
violated its own detention standards. 10 Moreover, several detainees have recently begun a hunger
strike to pro1est co11ditions at Adams County, and a fh111ily nlember of one of them reported that
detainees lack adequate medical attention and necessities like soap a11d tootl1paste. 11
f'ailures to provide proper notification to atton1eys, Congress, a11d tl1e public risks the health and
safety of migrants in these facilities--a risk underscored by the problen1s that already appear to
be emerging at Adan1s Cou11ty. l'urthe1n1ore, it suggests that ICE knew tl1e impropriety of its
actions i11 transferring 1nigrants to these facilities.
Despite reports tl1at children in Cl1ston1s and Border Protection lack "even the most basic
resoqrces." ICE appears to be spending n1oney to secretly house nligrants in for-profit facilities
v.,ritl1 den1onstrated failltres to provide safe and secure co11ditions, rather than improving
conditions in existing facilities. 12
5

.S'upra note

!_.

6

l'he Natchez Detnocrat, "CoreCivic: Federal Bureau of Prisons v.·ill not renew contract \Vi th Adan1s
County Correctional Center," Staff Reports, May 2, 2019,
h!:.!.2s ://v..'ww. natchezde1nocrat.com/2 0 19/05/02/core-c ivic-federa 1-bu rea u-o-f-pri son-\Vi l l-n ot-renewcontract -\Vi th-ad a n1s-count y-correctiona !-center/.
7 CoreCivic, ''Federal Bureau of Prisons Elects Not to Rene\v Contract at the Adams County Correctional
Center," May I, 2019, http://ir.corecivic.con1/n~\VS-re!cases/ne\VS-relcase-details/federal-bureau-prisons­
elei;,ts-not-rencv..·-contract-ada1_ns-county.
8 Markets Insider, ·'The GEO Group Announces Signing of(~ontract Modification \.vith lJ.S. Imn1igration
and Customs Enforce1nent for the Reactivation of the Existing 1,000-Bed South Louisiana IC.E
Processing Center," Apr. 25, 2019, https:/hnarkets.businessinsider.co1n/news/stocks/thc-geo-groupannounccs-signing-of-contract-1nodification-with-u-s-in1n1igration-and-custon1s-enforcen1ent-for-thereacti vati on~of-the-ex isting- !_ -000-bed-sou th-lo u is iana-ice-processing-ccnter-1 02 813 82 6_l.
9
,~'upra note I .
io Id.
11 Clarion Ledger, '"-fhings arc real!y bad'; ICE detainees reportedly on hunger strike at Mississippi
prison," Sarah Fo,vler, Jul. IO. 2019, https://w\V\V.clarionledgcr.co1n/sto1y/nevvs/2019/07/1 O/icein1n1 i Q:rant-d ctai nees-h un ger-strl ke- n1 issi ss i pp i-prison-cond itions-d eportation/ 1694 897 00 l /.
12 S'upra note 1 .

2

 1'o address my questions about these troubling repo1is, I request that you provide answers to the
following questions by July 25, 2019.
1. 1--Iow \Vere tl1e Adams County Co1Tectional Center, the Catahoula Co1Tectional Center in
I,ouisiana, and the South Louisiru1a ICE Processing Ce11ter selected as a location for
detaining 111igrants despite its dangerous record?
a. What provisions are in place to end recun·ing problen1s or prevent ne\V problems
at these facilities?
b. Are tl1ese institutions accredited, and if so, did that play a role in the decision to
contract with these facilities?
c. It has been reported that at the Adams Cot1nty Correctional Facility, CoreCivic
'"will need an additional 40 [en1ployees,] primarily in the medical area," according
to a local elected official in Ada1ns c:ounty w110 has 1net witl1 CoreCivic
representatives. 13 Is this accurate? If so, \Vere those medical personnel hired
before ICE detainees were brought i11to the facility?
2. What are the tern1s and conditions of each contract with these facilities? Specifically, at
each facility:
a. When \vas the contract signed?
b. When does the contract begin and end?
c. I-low n1any detainees can be ho11sed at the facility under the contract?
d. Wl1at is the daily cost per detainee?
e. What provisions are in place to ensure that these facilities-are safe ru1d meet all
appropriate qt1ality stru1dards?

3. I)id ICE provide any advance notice to any parties oftl1e use of these facilities?
a. Did lCl: provide advance public notice to the public of the use of these facilities?
b. Did ICE provide advance notice to a,tto1neys \Vl1ose clie11ts \Vere transferred? J:fas
ICE provided notice yet to the attorneys of all clients wl10 were transferred?
c. Did ICE provide advance notice to family or other individuals associated \.Vitl1
n1igrants \Vho were transferred?
d. I-las ICE fully t1pdated its detainee locator tool?

4. On \Vhat dates did ICE begin sending migrants to the Adams County Correctional Center,
the Catahoula Correction Center, and the Soutl1

I~ouisiana

ICE Processing Center?

5. Which congressionally appropriated funds is ICE using to contract v-,rith t11ese facilities?
a. To fu11d these facilities, did the Secretary ofH0111eland Security rely on
reprogramming or tra11sfen·ing of funds per Sec. 208 of the Administrative
Provisions in 'fitle II of the Consolidated Appropriatio11s Act, 20l9? 14

1

Magnolia State l.ive, ·'County supervisor says private prison inay soon have new life, despite loss of
federal contract_," Jun. 27, 2019, https://www.1nagnoliastatelive.con1/2019/06/27/county-supervisor-sayspri vate-prison-1na y-soon-have-n ew-1 ife-desp ite-1 oss-o f-federal99n tract/?fbc lid= l\v AR3 7tnI)f6BF l'vlj UaXyMcvtSZp1'zl wL VoGvE8ETSP5u5Z-oF 1dPip l czCP9fU.
14 Pub. La\V 116-6.
'

3

 b. Were the House and Senate Appropriations Committees required to be notified of
any reprogramming related to these facilities, per Sec. 503(b) of the General
Provi sions in Title V of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019?
i. ff not, why?
ii. lf so, please provide copies of the notifications.
6. Section 210 of the Administrative Provisions in Title II of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019 prohibits ICE from using any funds "to continue any contract
for the provision of detention services if the two most recent overall performance
evaluations" of the facility are less than "adequate.'"15 Please provide a record of the two
most recent overall performance evaluations for the Adams County Correctional Center,
the Catahoula Correctional Center in Louisiana, and the South Louisiana ICE Processing
Center.
7. What other contracts has ICE signed within the past year for migrant detention facilities?
a. Please provide a copy of each contract.
b. Please describe what public disclosure of these contracts has been provided before
now.
8. What plans does ICE have in place to move migrants into facilities that are not currently
used by ICE to detain migrants?
a. What sites are being considered by ICE for migrant detention that are not
currently being used for that purpose?

Sincerely,

United States Senator

15

Public Law 116-6.
4