Report on ICE, CBP Deaths as Border Chiefs Ask for More Resources
There were no systemic issues present in the deaths of people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which looked at five deaths in ICE custody and five deaths in CBP custody in Fiscal Year 2021.
Outside medical professionals also evaluated the medical circumstances surrounding the deaths to determine whether staff acted appropriately.
The OIG’s goal was to “determine whether systemic factors, policies, or processes played a role in the death.”
OIG said no systemic issues were found in nine of the ten deaths. OIG was unable to do a comprehensive review on the other death due to an ongoing criminal investigation.
No recommendations were made in the report.
There were two cases of note for ICE. The OIG previously identified concerns and made recommendations due to the handling of one death during an unannounced inspection at the Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, Mississippi.
The OIG also found that one person in custody was not provided timely or appropriate care by medical staff at the Calhoun County Jail in Battle Creek, Michigan. The OIG said the other three deaths in ICE custody were handled appropriately.
For CBP, the OIG said four deaths were handled appropriately. It could not evaluate the fifth due to the criminal investigation.
ICE and CBP define “death in custody” in different ways. For ICE, it means when an individual dies under ICE’s supervision in a detention facility, medical facility, between facilities, or within 30 days after release.
CBP meanwhile has extensive criteria for defining a “death in custody” as it detains individuals in a wide variety of circumstances including vehicles, holding facilities, and other areas.
Border Chiefs Plead for More Resources
The report comes as the new Congress held a hearing on the Biden Administration’s border policies.
At a contentious hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent in the Tucson Sector John Modlin and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent in the Rio Grande Valley Sector Gloria Chavez testified and stressed the need for more agents and more resources.
“I certainly know I do not have enough agents within Tucson sector to deal with the flow that we’re dealing with now,” Chief Modlin said.
Chief Modlin also estimated that 22,000 agents would be a reasonable number to have on CBP’s staff. The agency currently has about 19,300 agents.
Chief Chavez agreed saying her staff has been “a bit overwhelmed” in recent months and added that one of her priorities is to increase government and contracted personnel at processing centers.
Both agents fielded questions on the surge of migrant crossings, fentanyl, and other border-related issues.
Chief Chavez told members that the cartels are making $38 billion off human and drug smuggling and are taking advantage of the shortage of resources along the border.