Mental health services lacking in immigration detention centers, California report finds

The six federal immigration detention centers in California are not providing sufficient mental healthcare services to people in custody according to the California Department of Justice which looked at confinement conditions at the sites The summary disclosed Tuesday also discovered disproportionate use of force against detainees with mental illness statewide In San Diego County the description highlights what state justice agents noted is insufficient staffing for medicinal and mental soundness services at the Otay Mesa Detention Center and that mental vitality and health records were not properly updated and maintained Related Articles Numbers that matter from the first days of Trump s second term Trump admin restores legal status for international students in Bay Area More than refugees were detained during a raid on a Colorado nightclub Here s what we know President Trump preps executive orders targeting sanctuary cities police overhaul California immigration attorney and legal rep among U S citizens stated to leave country I ll just say that what we located was alarming Attorney General Rob Bonta declared during a news conference at his San Diego office Tuesday He later announced his office s inspections revealed a sobering and stark and dark picture At particular sites he revealed detainees were over-disciplined and other sites had lapses in securing medicine for infectious diseases Inspections also located deficiencies in mental wellbeing record-keeping and weaknesses in suicide prevention Bonta noted Bonta stated it is critical to keep an eye on the conditions at the facilities as the Trump administration cracks down on immigration Population levels are climbing from lows seen during the COVID- pandemic The state says the six facilities housed detainees during its reviews in The number as of about two weeks ago had reached detainees Bonta commented he predicts that the number will only continue to skyrocket under the Trump administration Additionally the description indicates that just under of those in custody as of earlier this month had a criminal history Tuesday s description is the fourth disclosed by the state Department of Justice since the state Legislature moved less than a decade ago to keep eyes on the inside of the federal facilities The new account looks at input primarily from to including visits to the six facilities last year and it focuses on mental vitality matters and the availability and quality of services an issue flagged in earlier reports Bonta s office says work has already started on the next record and it likely will focus on due process concerns which have garnered increased national attention due to the Trump administration s ramped-up immigration enforcement All six immigration facilities are run by private companies the Otay Mesa center is run by CoreCivic Neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor CoreCivic responded Tuesday to the statement s findings The summary alleges inadequate staffing at the Otay Mesa site for both mental vitality and healthcare care and insufficient suicide prevention and intervention practices Otay Mesa improved upon a few of the issues the state identified in its assessment including better availability of prescription medication for mental healthcare conditions confidentiality and language access A review of the files by the state turned up one instance in which a person detained at Otay Mesa announced they advised the facility upon arrival that they used psychotropic medication but did not see a psychiatrist for days The summary also uncovered that limited mental robustness visits created gaps in identifying history of trauma or sexual abuse The the greater part common mental physical condition conditions at the local site identified included voluntary starvation although the analysis does not say if it was part of a hunger strike anxiety depression post-traumatic stress disorder adjustment disorder and psychosis The review announced the Otay Mesa facility should place more attention on hospitalizing people on suicide watch for more than two days It notes one instance in which a detainee was placed on suicide watch on a Friday had no mental healthcare visits over the weekend and by Monday had decompensated to the point of eating his own waste He was not hospitalized until Tuesday Otay Mesa recorded no suicides during the review period The number of clinicians at the Otay Mesa facility increased after CoreCivic took over from ICE the job of providing services But the record identified that the healthcare providers were short-staffed on nights and weekends