U.S. immigration authorities sending 1,600 detainees to federal prisons

U.S.authorities are transferring into federal prisons about 1,600 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees, officialstold Reuters on Thursday, in the first large-scale use offederal prisons to hold detainees amid a Trump administrationcrackdown on people entering the country illegally.

An ICE spokesperson told Reuters five federal prisons willtemporarily take in detainees awaiting civil immigration court hearings, including potential asylum seekers, with one prison inVictorville, Calif., preparing to house 1,000 people.

Officials of a prison employeesunion said the influx ofICE detainees raises questions about prison staffing and safety.

Union leaders at prisons in California, Texas and Washingtonstate who spoke to Reuters said they had little time to preparefor the large intake of detainees.

At Victorville, the prison getting the largest number ofpeople, workers are moving about 500 inmates in amedium-security facility to make space, said John Kostelnik,local president for the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prison Locals union.

"There is so much movement going on," said Kostelnik."Everyone is running around like a chicken without their head."

In addition to Victorville, other prisons that have receivedor will receive detainees include facilities in Washington state, Oregon, Arizona and Texas.

ICE spokespersonDani Bennett said ICE "is working to meet the demand foradditional immigration detention space, both long and shortterm" due to a surge in illegal border crossings and a U.S.Department of Justice zero-tolerance policy.

"To meet this need, ICE is collaborating with the U.S.Marshals Service (USMS), the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), private detention facility operators and local government agencies," shesaid in a statement to Reuters.

'Highly unusual'

In April 2018, nearly 51,000 people were apprehended at ornear the U.S. southern border, up from about 16,000 in the same montha year earlier.

A new agreement between ICE and the Justice Department makesabout 1,600 prison beds available and is expected to last 120days, giving ICE time to secure more space for detainees. Itcomes amid a crackdown by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on bothillegal border crossings and people seeking asylum.

Recently, Sessions said the Justice Department planned toprosecute every person who crosses the border illegally and toseparate migrant children from their parents.

President Donald Trump in the spring signed a memorandumending "catch and release," in which illegal immigrants werereleased from detention while awaiting court hearings.

According to ICE data, the average daily population ofdetainees in its facilities as of May 26 was 41,134, up from the 2017 daily average of 38,106.

Immigration advocates immediately decried the news ofsending detainees to federal penitentiaries.

"Our federal prisons are set up to detain the worst of theworst. They should not be used for immigration purposes," said Ali Noorani,executive director of the National ImmigrationForum.

"Federal prisons are for hardened criminals. They are notphysically set up for immigrant landscapers looking for a job orfleeing violence," Noorani said.

ICE detainees awaiting civil hearings in immigration courtsare usually housed in ICE detention facilities or county jails.

Kevin Landy, a former ICE assistant director responsible forthe Office of Detention Policy and Planning under the Obamaadministration, said the move to house so many detainees at oncein federal prisons was "highly unusual" and raises oversightconcerns.

"A large per cent of ICE detainees have no criminal recordand are more vulnerable in a prison setting security staff andadministrators at [Bureau of Prisons]facilities have spent their careersdealing with hardened criminals serving long sentences forserious felonies, and the procedures and staff training reflectthat," he said. "This sudden mass transfer could result in someserious problems."