From an ICE spokesperson:
ICE is committed to ensuring that those in our custody reside in secure, humane environments
and under appropriate conditions of confinement. The agency takes very seriously the health,
safety and welfare of those in our care, including those who come into ICE custody with prior
medical conditions or who have never before received appropriate medical care. It also uses a
multi-layered inspections program to ensure its facilities meet a certain threshold of care as
outlined in our contracts with facilities, as well as the National Detention Standards and the
Performance Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS).
ICE maintains a community and detainee helpline, also known as the ICE Detention and
Reporting Information Line, or DRIL helpline (888) 351-4024, to address problems and concerns
from the public, family members, attorneys, faith-based leaders, and non-governmental
organizations, as well as the detainees themselves. The toll-free helpline and is available from 8
am to 8 pm, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
To ensure that our high standards for care are met, ICE created the Office of Detention
Oversight (ODO), a unit within the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), to conduct
independent oversight of detention conditions for ICE detainees through facility reviews and
targeted site visits. As an independent oversight body, ODO has its own unique inspection
process and reporting structure, ODO conducts compliance inspections at detention facilities in
which detainees are accommodated for periods in excess of 72 hours to determine compliance
with the ICE National Detention Standards (NDS) or Performance-Based National Detention
Standards (PBNDS), as applicable.
In addition, ERO’s On-Site Detention Compliance Oversight Program was established in 2010 in
response to the agency director’s initiative on immigration detention reform to enhance
oversight and care of detainees in ICE custody. On-Site Detention Service Managers (DSMs)
and Detention Standards Compliance Offices (DSCOs) monitor conditions of confinement
through daily on-site compliance reviews and provide "on the spot" resolution of facility issues
and detainee concerns through close collaboration with field offices and facility staff.
Senior ICE officials also chair an intra-agency council that jointly examines serious issues,
incidents, findings and allegations related to detention conditions at ICE facilities. The Detention
Monitoring Council (DMC) convenes at least once per quarter, with the DMC subcommittee
meeting at least once per month to ensure an effective, timely and comprehensive agency-wide
review and response to critical detention-related incidents. Meetings to respond to critical
incidents will normally be called as soon as there in an initial report on a death in ICE custody,
or notification to ERO of a significant incident, critical deficiency or major event impacting a
facility. The purpose of these sessions is to ensure that senior leadership is aware of the
incidents/events and that all required investigation and coordination is undertaken in a timely
fashion. The DMC is empowered to develop, recommend and implement appropriate,
immediate and long term remedial plans and lessons learned from critical incidents, and to

 ensure that the agency’s various enforcement, contractual and other resources are brought to
bear to correct serious deficiencies and systemic problems identified at facilities.
Lastly, as confirmed in the Dec. 5 ‘Immigration Enforcement: Arrests, Detentions, and
Removals, and Issues Related to Selected Populations’ GAO report, the agency has developed
and implemented policies considering the special needs of specific vulnerable populations in
custody, including individuals with disabilities, including those with mental illness, those who are
transgender, alien parents and legal guardians of minors, pregnant women, and juveniles.