Immigration Detention: Additional Actions Could Strengthen DHS Efforts to Address Sexual Abuse [Reissued on December 6, 2013]

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sexual abuse and assault allegations data are not complete, a fact that could limit their usefulness for detention management. ICE’s data system described 215 allegations of sexual abuse and assault from October 2009 through March 2013 in facilities that had over 1.2 million admissions; however, ICE data did not include all reported allegations. For example, GAO was unable to locate an additional 28 allegations detainees reported to the 10 facilities GAO visited—or 40 percent of 70 total allegations at these 10 facilities—because ICE field office officials did not report them to ICE headquarters. ICE issued guidance on reporting sexual abuse and assault allegations, but has not developed controls to ensure that field office officials responsible for overseeing all facilities are reporting allegations to ICE headquarters. Detainees may also face barriers to reporting abuse, such as difficulty reaching the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) telephone hotline, one of various means for reporting abuse. For example, GAO’s review of data maintained by ICE’s phone services contractor for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 showed that approximately 14 percent of calls placed to the hotline from about 210 facilities did not go through because, for example, the call was not answered. OIG officials were not aware that the OIG could monitor hotline connectivity through these data. Developing additional controls to better ensure reporting of allegations and coordinating with the OIG to better ensure OIG access to hotline connectivity data in accordance with federal internal control standards could better position ICE to assess its sexual abuse and assault prevention and intervention (SAAPI) efforts.