NPR Reports on Challenges to Visitation in ICE Prisons

Terrific reporting today by NPR’s Juliana Kim on challenges to visitation in ICE prisons. Kim explains:

Individuals held in immigration detention were barred from visits with relatives and friends for more than two years during the pandemic — far longer than federal prisons. In May, ICE lifted the ban, but immigrant advocates and people in detention centers argue that social visits have not been fully nor consistently reinstated. . . . 

As of Nov. 14, 52 out of 113 ICE sites were listed as yellow or red status, meaning their COVID response includes temporarily restricting in-person visits. . . .

Earlier this month, Freedom for Immigrants and 139 other immigrant advocacy organizations asked the Biden administration to intervene and urge ICE facilities to offer in-person visits regardless of a facility’s COVID status. They also said video calls for people in ICE detention should be free of charge.

The full story is available here.

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