At Least 15 Large ICE Detention Centers Uninspected for Over a Year

A significant number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities are operating without recent oversight, according to a CBS analysis. At least 15 of the 45 largest ICE centers, each housing 500 or more individuals, have not undergone inspections in more than a year, despite ongoing concerns raised by human rights groups.

The analysis further revealed that a minimum of five centers lack any documented inspection history. The facility known as 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Florida was not evaluated by ICE because it ceased operations in late June. Meanwhile, the Florence Correctional Center in Arizona, which averages 518 detainees daily, was last inspected in December 2024, and the Golden State Annex in McFarland, California, holding an average of 603 detainees, has not been inspected since January 2025.

These findings emerge in the wake of ICE's policy shift regarding detention center inspections implemented last year. The agency decided that annual inspections would be reserved solely for facilities exclusively detaining ICE individuals. Centers that also house individuals accused of non-immigration-related charges, such as county jails, are now subject to review every two years. Additionally, "self-assisted inspections" will be conducted biennially for ICE centers holding fewer than 50 people.

This situation is compounded by a recent Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights study, which reported that one person died in ICE custody every 8.6 days during the early months of 2026. This frequency is the highest in nearly two decades and surpasses the rate recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The HRW study documented 52 deaths in immigration custody from January 20 until the previous month, raising serious questions about the United States' compliance with international human rights obligations.