Inspection finds dangerous detention conditions at El Paso Border Patrol facility

Department of Homeland Security acting Inspector General John Kelly sent a report Thursday to Homeland Security acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan detailing “dangerous overcrowding” at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center. The Office of the Inspector General said it observed “dangerous holding conditions” that required immediate attention at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center located at the Paso Del Norte Bridge. Furthermore, the report states the processing center does not have the capacity to hold the hundreds currently in custody safely and has held the majority of its detainees longer than the 72 hours generally permitted. Staff at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center said the facility’s maximum capacity is 125 detainees; however, Border Patrol’s custody logs indicated there were approximately 750 detainees on May 7 and 900 detainees on May 8. The Office of the Inspector General said it also observed dangerous overcrowding among single adults in cells at the facility. According to the report, one cell with a maximum capacity of 12 held 76 detainees, one with a maximum capacity of 8 held 41 detainees and one cell with a maximum capacity of 35 held 155 detainees. The report states the facility’s seven general cells and three small isolation cells are unable to accommodate the number of detainees currently being held at the processing facility within TEDS standards. Further limiting available space is the need to separate detainees with infectious diseases, such as chicken pox, scabies and influenza, from each other and the general population...MORE