Washington (March 29, 2024) - Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner calling for ICE to limit and phase out solitary confinement while finding meaningful alternatives so that detainees receive the same rights as those in ICE detention, including access to counsel, telephone, visitation, food and hygiene. In their letter, the senators also call for DHS to specifically end its misuse of solitary confinement in immigration detention, especially for people with mental health and chronic medical conditions, LGBTQ+ individuals, among other vulnerable populations.
As punishment for minor infractions, such as using profanity, submitting a complaint, or participating in a hunger strike, ICE placed individuals in solitary confinement for months and even years. From 2018 to 2023, ICE placed people in solitary confinement more than 14,000 times and left them in an enclosed cell without human contact for more than 22 hours per day. Once in solitary confinement, people endure additional punishment, including being denied access to legal visits, receiving reduced portion sizes at meals, and being forced to sleep on cement or steel platforms. Since solitary confinement has shown to carry serious health risks such as brain damage, hallucinations, PTSD, self-harm, and even suicide, the senators are concerned that ICE’s solitary confinement may constitute cruel and unusual punishment, which would violate the U.S. Constitution.
Cosigners in the Senate include Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernard Sanders (D-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
In the letter to Secretary Mayorkas and Acting Director Lechleitner, the senators wrote, “Under no circumstances should ICE use solitary confinement as a form of discipline in civil immigration detention. ICE should also prioritize vulnerable individuals for release into post-release care plans whenever appropriate, rather than placing them in solitary confinement in the first place. New practices must also ensure that those in solitary confinement receive the same rights as others in ICE detention, including the same access to counsel, telephones, visitation, food, and hygiene.”
To better understand ICE’s solitary confinement practices, the senators request answers to the following questions by April 5, 2024:
