Report cites problems at 2 immigrant jails downstate

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Two immigrant detention centers in downstate Illinois and another in Kentucky have persistently violated the human rights of inmates by denying access to legal counsel, providing inadequate medical care and serving few hot meals, according to a report released Monday by the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center and the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights.

The groups called on the Obama administration to cut down on the number of immigrant detainees. They’re also want the three centers to be closed.

They are the downstate Jefferson County Jail in Mount Vernon and the Tri-County Detention Center in Ullin and the Boone County Jail in Burlington, Ky.

The groups said conditions at the facilities haven’t improved since the federal government announced reforms in 2009 and that the three centers, all located in rural areas, encourage inhumane conditions.

“When you have no one watching or involved from the outside, it creates an environment when people are vulnerable to abuse and neglect,” said Mary Meg McCarthy, executive director of the justice center, which is part of the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance.

The report calls on the federal government to halt proposals for new immigrant detention facilities nationwide, including a proposed center in Crete. Responding to the report, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the agency “takes any allegation of misconduct or negligence at our detention facilities very seriously.” It said there are strict standards and annual inspections at all facilities and that the three cited in the report had “received passing grades.”