U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reduced its use of the Glades County Detention Center ...
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In a press release, ICE said it has reduced its use of the Glades County Detention Center, in part due to persistent and ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care, and because the facility is of limited operational significance. Nevertheless, ICE has continued to pay for a minimum number of beds, many of which the agency has not and likely will not utilize. The agency will not extend the guaranteed minimum beds provision of the agreement. Any future use of the facility will be dependent on fully addressing any conditions that do not meet detention standards.
ICE detains noncitizens during removal proceedings and pending removal, as required by law or when necessary to ensure public safety or address risk of flight. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has committed to review detention facilities to assess whether their conditions are humane, meet applicable standards, and represent a responsible use of appropriated funding. The following actions reinforce that commitment:
Acting Director Tae D. Johnson instructed ICE staff to begin preparations, including the relocation of ICE personnel as needed and the transfer of detained noncitizens whose continued detention remains necessary to achieve the agency’s national security, public safety, and border security mission or is otherwise required by law.
ICE will continue to review other immigration detention centers and monitor the quality of treatment of detained individuals, the conditions of detention, and other factors relevant to the continued operation of each facility. The Department will continue to monitor its operational needs for detention and adjust as needed.
Since the May 20, 2021, memorandum on immigration detention issued by Secretary Mayorkas, the Department has taken significant additional steps to review the detention system, including observations, analysis, and expertise provided by personnel at ICE, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and others.