An internal watchdog report has revealed that officers at an immigration detention centre in Louisiana used a chokehold on one detainee and stabbed another with a pen. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General found that staff at Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Winn Correctional Center violated rules against physical force.
The report, part of a wider audit of ICE detention centres, documented three incidents. In one, an officer applied a chokehold to gain control of a detainee involved in a physical altercation, despite ICE policy forbidding neck restraints unless deadly force is authorised. In another, a five-person team used mechanical restraints and a suicide smock after a detainee refused to change into it, without documenting the required medical review. In a third incident, an officer stabbed a detainee's thumb with a pen, puncturing the skin, after the detainee did not move his hand from a door.
Investigators found that the facility could not ensure staff were reprimanded or that violent incidents were documented, increasing the risk of property damage, injury, and death. The report also cited unsanitary food storage, inadequate legal support, leaking ceilings, and failures in medical documentation.
The findings come amid growing scrutiny of ICE detention conditions, with hunger and labour strikes reported across the country. A DHS spokesperson said the report uncovered minor infractions and that ICE is working to address the issues.
