Congressman Carson Releases ICE Response on Conditions at Miami Correctional

Today, Congressman André Carson (IN-07) released a response from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following his inquiry into the conditions at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana. Congressman Carson's inquiry and ICE's response can be found below:

Congressman Carson made the following statement:

"I am deeply concerned by officials' continued failure to provide timely medical care and prescribed medications to people in ICE custody at Miami Correctional Facility. The government has a clear legal duty to protect the health and safety of every person in its custody. When that duty is ignored, the consequences are life threatening, and in some cases, deadly. Although ICE's response indicates that some issues raised in my initial inquiry have been addressed -- including upgrades to the commissary system and updates to the law library content to include a congressional privacy release form -- the agency's answers raise even more serious questions about medical care, medication access, and legal access.

"I initially raised concerns that detainees were not receiving proper medical care and prescription medications after two ICE detainee deaths at Miami Correctional, particularly given reports of delayed and inadequate medical care at the facility. ICE's response to my letter only deepens those concerns. ICE now acknowledges that detainees at Miami Correctional missed a staggering 799 doses of medication. This is gravely concerning, and these figures demand immediate scrutiny.

"Just this week, the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of Andranik Grigoryan, a former ICE detainee who suffered a severe seizure after he was denied prescribed medication. These allegations are consistent with what detainees at Miami Correctional told me during my oversight visit in April, including one man who could not even access Tylenol in a timely manner. Extensive reporting also demonstrates poor staffing and a dangerous medical care backlog at Miami Correctional. There is more than enough evidence: Miami Correctional is failing to uphold basic standards of care for its detainees. This is not an isolated incident -- this is a deadly pattern of neglect.

"Today, I am calling for immediate intervention and a thorough, transparent investigation into injuries and deaths at Miami Correctional. I am also calling for accountability of any officials whose actions or failure to act contributed to these deaths and injuries. ICE must make the findings of that investigation public and provide a full accounting of the medical care and medication access provided at Miami Correctional.

"I renew my call to end ICE detention at Miami Correctional and urge swift action before another person is seriously harmed, injured, or killed by ICE. Transparency is the first step towards accountability, which is why I am making ICE's full response public.

"Since this administration's brutal escalation of ICE detainment, I have not and will not vote to give ICE a penny more of your taxpayer dollars without meaningful accountability and fundamental reforms. ICE is terrorizing families, undermining due process, and violating basic human rights."

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