Contractors running Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities can rely more heavily on artificial intelligence tools to communicate with detainees and continue refusing to pay the minimum wage for detainees’ “voluntary work,” under relaxed detention standards released Monday.ICE said the standards, which apply to for-profit contractors and jails that hold detainees, were revised to “reduce the burden on our detention operators.” Experts said the changes would help contractors limit legal liability, reduce costs and get more operational flexibility while doing little, if anything, to improve conditions for roughly 60,000 people currently detained.“100% it’s going to result in deterioration of already problematic conditions of detention,” said Michelle Brane, a former Department of Homeland Security ombudsman who oversaw immigration detention practices during part of the Biden administration. “It’s consistent with their general practice, which is to eliminate accountability and oversight. They are not concerned with people’s basic rights or safety of detainees.”
The revisions come as ICE detention facilities are reporting deaths in unprecedented numbers and face accusations of medical neglect, inadequate food and other inhumane conditions. They come as ICE is flush with cash, receiving more than half of the $70 billion immigration enforcement spending bill signed by President Donald Trump last week.
