ICE & USA's PRIVATE PRISON SYSTEM: History of SA Allegations, Abuses, Violations

FACTS & LINKS

1.     Trump’s administration closed a watchdog office that investigates allegations of abuse inside ICE detention centers at the same time officers’ use of force against detainees reaches unprecedented levels.

2.     The shuttered Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman was charged with reviewing complaints about civil rights abuses, excessive force and other allegations of misconduct involving ICE.

3.     The office is required by law.

4.     Trump’s Administration is holding over 500 babies and toddlers in detention centers.

5.     Since Trump returned to the White House, there have been over 780 instances of ICE officers and detention staff using physical force or chemical agents against immigrant detainees — a 37 percent increase from the previous year.

6.     Deaths in ICE custody hit a 20-year high

7.     Private prison companies have donated millions to members of Congress, both Democrat and Republican.

8.     The two largest private prison companies, GEO Group and CoreCivic, each donated $500,000 to President Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.

GEO Group, private prison corporation

- Ignored evidence of sexual assault & other allegations

1.     GEO was recently awarded $121 million in taxpayer funding and has raked in billions through contracts with the government. GEO is the nation’s largest for-profit jailer of immigrants and ICE’s biggest contractor.

2.     May 5^th, the UW Center for Human Rights (UWHCR) researchers identified 172 unique reports of sexual abuse or assault at one Washington ICE facility alone between January 2015 and March 2025. These sexual assault allegations were not properly investigated. Evidence was ignored.

3.     GEO disobeyed federal requirements to adopt preventative measures.

4.     Despite detainees explicitly requesting police be informed, ICE and GEO repeatedly refused to report the sexual assault allegations to the Tacoma Police Department.

5.     ICE is weakening oversight standards through a newly issued federal contract with GEO Group.

6.     George Zoley, founder and CEO of GEO, is an immigrant.

7.     READ MORE: UW Center for Human Rights report alleges failures in sexual abuse investigations at Tacoma ICE detention center - The Daily

Dilley Detention Center, Texas

– Isolating pregnant children, many of whom were raped

1.     The Guardian exposed segregated blocks for teenage girls who are pregnant earlier this year. The article detailed that the girls as young as 13 years old, many pregnant due to rape, were transferred to Dilley. ICE is restricting their access to lawyers, the press and their own families.

2.     Former Office of Refugee Resettlement Official Jonathan White said moving the teens to Texas, where abortion is illegal, was engineered. “It’s a choice to ensure zero abortions. Making the decision for these girls whether they will give birth to their rapist’s baby.”

3.     After visiting Dilley twice, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro expressed concern about medical care for detainees there, adding that “in some ways these folks are treated like animals.”

Delany Hall ICE Facility, Newark, New Jersey

– ICE escalating violence

1.     Multiple sources within the facility reported ICE agents attacking detainees and causing serious injuries.

2.     “After seeing who is being held and the conditions under which they’re detained, I believe most Americans would agree that this facility is a moral stain on our community,” Senator Cory Booker wrote in the post. “In fact, the majority of the people we encountered have no criminal charges or the kind of violence or criminality that Donald Trump said he was going to be focusing his attention on. This is unacceptable to me.” 

3.     Read more: Delaney Hall ICE facility in NJ: Escalating violence reported - WHYY

Moshannon Valley Processing Center, Central Pennsylvania

– Sexual assault ignored

1.     Multiple sources within the facility reported ICE agents attacking detainees, most of whom do not have a criminal record.

2.     During an unannounced inspection of the Moshannon ICE Center, U.S. Reps. Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio detailed reports of detainees experiencing neglect and abuse:

a. A pregnant detainee experiencing bleeding, didn't know the status of her pregnancy and was denied medical care.

b. A woman who said she had been sexually assaulted was ignored.

c. Another woman reported not receiving appropriate care after a surgery.

Krome North, Florida

– Leads country in use of force

1.     Krome leads country in use of force. 

2.     A July 2025 report by Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South found that staff at Krome and two other South Florida immigrant detention centers:

a.     Dangerously substandard medical care.

b.     Overcrowding.

c.      Abusive treatment.

d.     Restrictions on access to legal and psychosocial support.

3.     "You're just seeing this level of apathy and cruelty that's literally killing people," says Katie Blankenship, an attorney at Sanctuary of the South.

El Paso, Texas ICE Detention Center

- Over 80 human rights violations

1.     A 19-page investigative report supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch finds detainees at the El Paso facility are facing what advocates describe as a 'humanitarian catastrophe.'

2.     Report details more than 80 documented human rights violations of federal standards, ranging from officers reportedly 'crushing the testicles' of restrained migrants to a teenager being beaten so severely that he suffered permanent hearing loss.

3.     Widespread mistreatment was committed by ICE officers including physical beatings, sexual assault, plus deliberate neglect of essential needs such as adequate food, hygiene supplies, and medical care.

Louisiana - In December 2025, an ICE contractor pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a detainee at a detention facility in Louisiana, instructing other detainees to act as lookouts.

Baldwin, Michigan - "I have serious concerns about the safety of individuals who are detained in the North Lake facility," said Dr. Marc Stern, a Washington-based correctional physician with experience reviewing conditions in ICE detention centers, at a press conference on Thursday.

What can you do to help immigrants & ICE detainees?

1.     JOIN A LOCAL ACTION TEAM: Groups have been formed to track and warn immigrants of ICE presense, greet newly released detainees with a change of clothes, snacks, a phone and help them get home. Others work to fill ICE detainees’ commissary accounts, connect them with legal aid, and arrange transportation.

2.     SPEAK OUT: Share the facts. Call your reps to demand the defunding of ICE and stopping the use of private prisons. Demand they hold ICE accountable for racial profiling, abuses at detention centers, and breaking constitutional protections such as due process and freedom from unlawful search and detention.

3.     DONATE: Support teams fighting back like the ACLU.

4.     PROTEST: Show them you care by attending a detention center protest to let the innocent know they have not been forgotten, and we will never stop fighting for their freedoms.

5. LISTEN to the detainee’s stories and BELIEVE them.