U.S. authorities are transferring 1,600 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees into federal prisons, in the first large-scale use of federal prisons to hold detainees amid a Trump administration crackdown on people entering the U.S. illegally, Reuters reports. Five federal prisons will temporarily take in detainees awaiting civil immigration court hearings, including potential asylum seekers, with one prison in Victorville, Ca., preparing to house 1,000 people. President Trump has made his hard-line stance on immigration an integral part of his presidency and has promised to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to stem the flow of migrants. He promised to keep immigrants targeted for deportation locked up “pending the outcome of their removal proceedings.”
Under former President Obama, many immigrants without serious criminal records were allowed to await their court dates out of custody. Others were housed in immigration detention facilities or local jails. ICE has used federal prisons in the past but not on this scale. The new policy drew criticism from immigration advocates and former officials. Former ICE official Kevin Landy said the move to house so many detainees at once in federal prisons was “highly unusual” and raises oversight concerns. “A large percent of ICE detainees have no criminal record and are more vulnerable in a prison setting – security staff and administrators at BOP facilities have spent their careers dealing with hardened criminals serving long sentences for serious felonies, and the procedures and staff training reflect that,” he said. “This sudden mass transfer could result in some serious problems.” Officials of a prison employees’ union said the influx of ICE detainees raises questions about prison staffing and safety.