A report from the U.S Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) found 56% of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detainees in the San Diego region were held longer than they were supposed to be.
The report details results of an unannounced inspection of four U.S. Border Patrol facilities and one Office of Field Operations last May.
While 72 hours is the national standard for holds by federal agencies, the review of 1,187 detainees revealed 668 were held beyond that. At the largest of the facilities, known as the San Diego Area Detention, or SAD, 150 were kept for more than 10 days and at least one person was kept over 34 days.
The report found some overcrowding and that enhanced expedited removal processing (EER) "was a contributing factor to prolonged times in custody."
EER is a process where migrants are held until an asylum officer or judge determines whether fear claims are credible.
"It’s concerning to me because we know that the short-term custody facilities are not equipped to care for people who are there for long periods of time, and also because it represents a violation of the agreements that are in place," said Pedro Rios, San Diego Program Director for the American Friends Service Committee. "And I question whether the national standards are observed."
Rios works with other community groups to provide assistance to those seeking asylum while they wait between sections of border walls to be processed. He considers that alone to be detention.
"There are national standards that need to be observed by border patrol officials and CBP generally — providing shelter for people, food, water. And when they are held in these open air conditions, those needs are not being met unless community organizations such as ours, and community members, provide those needs," Rios said.
The report found Customs and Border Protection, "generally met other applicable standards to provide or make available amenities such as food, water, sleeping mats, and medical care to detainees," with a noted exception of some worn bedding at one facility.
KPBS reached out to CBP Monday regarding the report, and a spokesperson said they were working to respond to our questions. In the meantime, the report itself does include a CBP response to two of the DHS Office of Inspector General's (DHS OIG) recommendations.
The first was to come up with new or refined strategies and solutions to manage delays. CBP’s official response was it concurred, adding steps have already been taken to do so by increasing staffing, coordination with community groups and using technology for virtual processing. The DHS OIG report said it would close this recommendation after CBP proves they have been able to "manage delays in transferring detainees out of Border Patrol custody."
The other recommendation was to review detainee custody logs, part of a "data integrity review" for a month to monitor progress, something CBP also concurred with and said was being addressed.
DHS OIG officials said they did the site visits as part of "annual, congressionally mandated oversight of CBP holding facilities ... To evaluate CBP’s compliance with applicable detention standards."
