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More than 640 immigrants detained in the Houston area have been placed in solitary confinement since 2018 in conditions that could be considered torture by the United Nations, according to a new report by Harvard University and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).

The data, obtained from 125 Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities from September 2018 to September 2023, revealed that immigrants were held in solitary for up to 759 days, far exceeding the 15 days laid out by the UN as prolonged confinement and often leading to physical, mental and sexual abuse. The reasons ranged from arbitrary to punitive, from sharing a consensual kiss, swearing or refusing to get up during bunk count.

Solitary confinement, which has been shown to pose mental and physical health risks, is increasing nationwide and at Houston’s biggest detention center, despite past guidelines from ICE urging the limited use of the practice, according to the report.

“There's a lot of research about how bad it is for one's physical and mental health, and there are almost always alternatives and particularly alternatives for using it for long periods of time,” said Katherine Peeler, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, PHR medical expert, and report co-author. “But particularly in immigration detention where the vast majority of people are detained administratively, using something like solitary confinement is unconscionable.”

An ICE spokesperson said the agency is “firmly committed to the health, safety, and welfare of all those in our custody.” The agency’s oversight mechanisms include daily on-sight compliance reviews, routine inspections and audits by the DHS Office of the Inspector General and other government agencies, as well as third-party audits to ensure impartiality.

“By undergoing these rigorous and layered channels of oversight, ICE is able to provide a high standard of care for the detained population and quickly identify and correct issues that might arise at any of its detention facilities,” the spokesperson said.

Houston houses four detention centers within a 75-mile radius, with a daily population of 3,751 as of January 2024, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Some of these detainees are picked up by ICE in raids or detained after losing an immigration court case, while others are transferred to ICE custody from local jails. Once in ICE detention, immigrants stay there until they are released on bond pending their court case, win the right to stay in the U.S., or are deported, a process that can take months or even years. 

Houston’s detention centers have come under scrutiny in the past for dangerous and unsanitary conditions, particularly in Montgomery ICE Processing Center and IAH Secure Adult Detention Facility. In 2021, these two facilities were among 39 that the ACLU demanded that the Department of Homeland Security shut down.

The 26 immigrants interviewed for the report described being subject to harsh and unsanitary conditions while in solitary. Some had to sleep with the lights on. Others couldn’t flush their own toilet. The isolation took a physical and mental toll, particularly when it extended for prolonged periods.

“People really described feeling isolated and lonely, depressed and anxious,” said Peeler. “There were a lot of small indignities that occurred. People described having no control over their surroundings.”

Of the four detention centers in the Houston area, cases of solitary confinement were overwhelmingly concentrated at Montgomery ICE Processing Center. A total of 542 cases were reported there during the five-year period of the study.

“The extent of the use of solitary confinement at Montgomery ICE Processing Center is shocking, but not surprising, given the history of other abuses reported at the facility,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project, in a statement to the Abdelraoufsinno.

The organization sued ICE in 2020 to release vulnerable immigrants from the Montgomery detention center during the first months of COVID-19.

“Solitary confinement is a dangerous practice that can cause permanent harm,” she added.

The use of solitary confinement is on the rise at the Montgomery detention center, with 210 cases reported in 2023, compared to 109 the year before.

“It's the lack of effective oversight and complete lack of accountability causing the increase,” said Tessa Wilson, senior program officer for PHR’s Asylum Program and one of the report authors.

Researchers were alarmed not only by the frequency of solitary confinement placements, but also the length of the stays.

In the longest recorded case in the Houston area, one immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo was held in solitary in Montgomery ICE Processing Center for 427 days until his release in May 2023. The agency listed the case as “detainee requested” for “protective custody.”

In another case at the same detention center, a man from Jamaica was placed in solitary confinement for a year for behavior-related issues. Another man from Honduras told researchers that his isolation at the facility was retaliatory for speaking up about poor conditions.

“He's specifically mentioned that the warden there told him that he wouldn't be getting out of solitary because he had instigated various protests and complaints,” said Peeler. The man reported developing anxiety and depression during his months in isolation.

GEO Group, the private prison company that runs Montgomery ICE Processing Center, said that it follows national standards set by the Department of Homeland Security.

“Under no circumstances is an assignment in a special management unit used in a retaliatory manner or without careful adherence to the performance-based national detention standards and the ICE notification procedure,” said a GEO Group spokesperson.

The report shows that the use of solitary confinement decreased at two Houston-area detention centers, Houston Contract Detention Facility and IAH Secure Adult Processing Facility, to zero cases in 2023. Joe Corley ICE Processing Center registered two cases in 2023, and five total since 2018.

Brian Todd, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, the private prison company that runs Houston Contract Detention Facility, challenged the use of the term solitary confinement to describe segregated conditions and said solitary confinement “does not exist at Houston Contract Detention Facility (HCDF) or any facility that CoreCivic operates.”

“We have restrictive housing units (RHU), and these are designated for medical and mental health observation rather than discipline, protective custody, or administrative/investigative purposes,” Todd said. “RHU detainees still have full access to courts, visitation, mail, meals, all medical facilities, and recreation. We strive to ensure detainees are cared for in the least restrictive environment necessary to maintain the safety and security of the institution.”

Arevik Avedian, one of the report authors and director of empirical research services at Harvard Law School, pointed out that the data released in the report is limited by ICE and its record-keeping, which could vary from facility to facility. It should be taken as a piece of the puzzle, but not the whole picture, she said.

The report calls on ICE to issue a binding directive to end solitary confinement, increase reporting of the practice, and require facilities and private contractors to adhere to stricter guidelines.

“There is already overwhelming support for ending the use of solitary confinement in general, and President Biden himself even said it in his 2020 campaign,” said Wilson. “There should be no reason why it shouldn't be a priority for ICE as well.”

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