Irwin County Detention Center & LaSalle DHS Sec Mayorkas order ICE to sever ties

Hold On. Are you saying the research, DHS-OIG HHS-OIG Reports, numerous lawsuits, Congressional Letters, Whistleblower Complaint(s) and countless Twitter threads, all factual. Do I have that correct?

Did someone say Irwin County Detention Center?

It’s almost like in September 2020 there was this annoying PITA Twitter ¹account that took a lot of shit for saying not all was well at Irwin. That the Whistleblower Complaint was legitimate and horrific. Yes why it’s almost like the aforementioned account started |to tweeting² in all caps and then walked you through the various GAO, DHS-OIG and DOJ-OIG reports. And then cross referenced with the September 2020 comprehensive whistleblower complaint .

I forking told you so - September 2020 @File411 Archived thread

And yet HERE WE ARE…

Oversight Committee @OversightDems

#NEW: @OversightDems Chair @RepMaloney and @HomelandDems Chair @BennieGThompson released this statement on news that @DHSgov's @SecMayorkas has ordered @ICEgov to sever its ties with the Irwin County Detention Center:

On May 20, 2021 Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ordered that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to sever its ties with the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia, an ICE facility run by LaSalle Corrections.

In a memo to ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson, Secretary Mayorkas stated, “Allow me to state one foundational principle:  we will not tolerate the mistreatment of individuals in civil immigration detention or substandard conditions of detention.” 

ProTip; read the following paragraph closely - there’s some really tasty factoids in this part of the DHS May 20, 2021

Press Release -in November of 2020 LaSalle made an inadvertent disclosure and I distinctly recall in my ongoing Twitter thread I made note of page 2 and second paragraph - because this tiny detail has a lot more impact and I’m not sure why so many overlooked what’s there in black and white….

Secretary Mayorkas also instructed Acting Director Johnson to prepare to discontinue the use of the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia as soon as possible and consistent with any legal obligations.  The preparations will include preservation of evidence for ongoing investigations, relocation of ICE personnel if necessary, and the transfer of detained noncitizens whose continued detention remains necessary to achieve our national security, public safety, and border security mission. 

DHS Sec Mayorkas.Statement on ICE closures

“We have an obligation to make lasting improvements to our civil immigration detention system,” said Secretary Mayorkas.  “This marks an important first step to realizing that goal.  DHS detention facilities and the treatment of individuals in those facilities will be held to our health and safety standards.  Where we discover they fall short, we will continue to take action as we are doing today.”

September 21, 2020…

…Multiple House Committee Chairs sent the following letter to LaSalle, ICE, USCIS, and DHS concerning the Whistleblower Complaint which alleged numerous disturbing incidents;

…U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), LaSalle Corrections, and the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia requesting documents regarding the treatment of detainees at ICDC.

September 21, 2020 letter from Congress to DHS & LaSalle

These records are necessary to assist the Committees in their investigation into troubling allegations of medical neglect, unsanitary conditions, and abuse raised by a nurse at ICDC and by ICDC detainees in a whistleblower complaint filed last week.

October 10, 2020

… in a scathing letter to ICE - the various House Committee Chairs go there and by there, I mean;

No documents have been produced to date by you, LaSalle Corrections, or ICDC.  Instead, officials from LaSalle Corrections informed us that they produced responsive documents to you prior to the response date of October 2, claiming—incorrectly—that their contract with ICE prevents them from producing documents directly to the Committees without your permission. 

October 9, 2020 2nd letter from Congress

You, LaSalle Corrections, and the ICDC each have an independent responsibility to produce to Congress the documents we have requested, yet you have all failed to do so to date.  Agencies may not use any contractual provisions or other means to prohibit contractors or others from providing documents or information sought by Congress

November 25, 2020

…the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committee Chairs issued the following subpoena to LaSalle’s CEO

“Despite the seriousness of the allegations taking place at their facility, LaSalle has stonewalled our Committees since we began our investigation in September… They have provided us no documents, refused to share their contract with ICE, and have consistently fed us conflicting information…women detained at ICDC, LaSalle is actively obstructing the Committees’ efforts to examine the troubling allegations and get answers to the American people.” said Chairs Thompson and Maloney

The Subpoena also attached the following letter, which reads in part:

…consent and that ICDC violated federally recommended protocols to control the spread of the coronavirus.1 In our letter, we requested that LaSalle Corrections produce seven categories of documents no later than October 2, 2020.2 LaSalle has failed to provide any documents in response to the Committees’ requests.

…that same individual told staff with both of our Committees that LaSalle has not taken any steps to locate and preserve documents that would be responsive to the Committees’ requests.

….LaSalle has repeatedly claimed that LaSalle’s contract with ICE prevents the company from producing documents without ICE’s approval. Despite repeated requests from our staff, LaSalle has refused to provide a copy of any of its contracts with ICE

November 11, 2020, a representative of LaSalle stated in an email to our Committee staff that “LaSalle Corrections is accommodating interviews being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division.”

However, on a November 16, 2020, call with our Committee staff, LaSalle’s Director of Operations for Louisiana and Georgia indicated that LaSalle was not aware of any investigation of the allegations raised by Ms. Wooten being conducted by the DOJ.

It would appear that informed predictions made in September 2020 - turns out yes, exactly what I said on Twitter to LaSalle & to the GEO Group - “your abrogation of Congressional Request will cost you dearly” and by dearly - I meant your contract will be abandoned by the next administration because that thread and countless others had a singular objective;

DHS-OIG June 2019 Report #; OIG-18-67 page 1

shine sunlight on the dark corners of the Trump Administration and what appears to be an unusual uptick in referring Irwin Inmates to “Outside Care”

DHS-OIG June 2019 Report #; OIG-18-67 page 2

In the June 2019 Facility check³ the most disturbing portion of the report, see page 5. This is where the DHS-OIG disclosed the severity of female inmates and how LaSalle trusted these detainees worse than animals. Read what I highlighted, which reads in part (because the horrors and atrocities at Irwin County Detention Center was never “fake news” it was real and disturbing

There were two serious suicide attempts during the inspection period. A 23-year old female detainee cut her wrists in the facility courtroom. Immediate aid was rendered by corrections and medical staff. The detainee was sent to the ER. The wound was dressed and the detainee was returned to the facility. The detainee was placed on suicide watch and no further incidents were reported.

A 20-year old female detainee was found sitting on her bunk bleeding profusely from deep cuts in her left antecubital fossa. Immediate aid was rendered and the detainee was transported to the ER via ambulance. The detainee’s wound was sutured and she returned to the facility. She was placed on suicide watch and no further incidents were reported.

So to those who said I was wrong about Irwin County Detention Center - I accept your apology (just kidding). I consistently back up my assertions with a bunch of receipts. Naturally saying “I told you so” would be supremely obnoxious.

• Irwin County Detention Center (GA) - Sep. 25, 2020 Cover Letter & Detention Review Summary Form December 2020 - Compliance Report

Do I regret those threads? Nope. I was keeping track of the Irwin facilities for years. I had read the various OIG Reports, ICE inspection Reports, the ongoing litigation against LaSalle, the numerous congressional communiques. When I said what I said in those countless threads, it was born from spending hours of my free time researching and reading.

-Filey

1. September 20, 2020 - archived Twitter thread - found here or here

2. April 2020 - archived Twitter thread - where I discussed DHS and no COVID-19 mitigation plan for detainees in custody, found here

3. since these are public records you just need to know where and what to look for. these records aren’t super-spooky-spy exclusive https://www.ice.gov/detain/facility-inspections