Democratic senators raise concerns over ICE solitary confinement

March 29 (UPI) -- Twelve senators signed a letter Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing concern over alleged solitary confinement policy violations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"We call on DHS to end the misuse of solitary confinement in immigration detention and establish meaningful alternatives to solitary confinement that would eventually end its use in immigration detention, except under exigent circumstances," the letter read.

It was signed by Democratic Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler of California and Peter Welch and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The group points to a report by Physicians for Human Rights released in February that said ICE "has isolated individuals in its facilities for months and even years, used solitary as punishment for minor infractions, and placed in solitary vulnerable individuals, including those with mental health conditions."

The letter added that solitary confinement "is an inhumane practice that leads to irreparable mental and physical harm."

Officials with Physicians for Human Rights met with ICE leadership for a second time on March 6.

On Feb. 29, the National Center for Youth Law reported that children along the southern border were being held in "appalling conditions that no child should ever have to endure" in open-air holding sites.

The senators' letter states that the PHR report -- "one of the most expansive investigations into the use of solitary confinement in U.S. immigration detention to date" -- outlines how ICE has isolated vulnerable people for months and years as punishment for even minor infractions, which has resulted in a worsening of overall mental health conditions.

The letter cites figures from the report that between 2018 and 2023, ICE placed individuals in solitary confinement over 14,000 times with no human contact for more than 22 hours a day in some cases.

"Today, an estimated 56% of individuals in ICE's solitary confinement have mental illnesses -- up from 35% in 2019," the letter said. The diagnoses include chronic PTSD, major depressive, bipolar and schizophrenia disorders.

"Furthermore, the length of time individuals with mental health conditions spend in solitary confinement while in ICE custody has nearly doubled."

It further alleges additional punishments, such as denial of legal visits, reduced meal sizes, and questionable sleep conditions -- sometimes as retaliation for going on a hunger strike, or for making a complaint.

"From 2022 to 2023 alone, the number of people ICE placed in solitary confinement -- or 'segregation,' as ICE describes it -- skyrocketed by 61%," the senators wrote to Mayorkas and Patrick Lechleitner, who has served as acting ICE director since 2023.

ICE's own data has demonstrated that the agency's confinement policies are "in clear violation of international norms," the senators said.