Watchdog Looks At COVID-19 Response In Immigration Detention Centers
Download mp3 (1.24 MB)A new watchdog report says staff at some immigration detention centers worried about an inability to have people social distance or isolate if they may have been infected with COVID-19.
Most of the respondents to an April survey by the Homeland Security Inspector General said their immigration detention center was ready to deal with COVID-19. But they also had worries if the virus continued to spread, which it did.
The report is woefully inadequate, said Ron Barber, district director for U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D- Tucson).
“Let’s be clear about this. All of the reports that they got were from facility management or staff,” Barber said.
The report says the Inspector General did not verify the accuracy of survey responses. But the watchdog now plans to do a more complete report.
Barber said investigators need to also talk with detainees and their lawyers.
