EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:
Hundreds of detainees across at least 33 states allege in federal lawsuits that immigration detention facilities failed to provide them adequate medical care by denying it, delaying it or providing deficient treatment, an investigation by KFF Health News and The Associated Press has found.
U.S. jails and immigration detention centers have long struggled to meet the medical needs of the people in their charge. But the system is sagging under an influx of detentions since President Donald Trump returned to office: More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as of mid-January, up from around 40,000 a year earlier.
Detainees have filed tens of thousands of court cases using a legal pathway called habeas corpus to argue they are being held illegally. Sometimes those records detail facility conditions, including access to medical care, but unlike other civil filings they are not accessible through the online PACER court records portal because of a federal rule limiting access.
However, they are available in person at U.S. district court computers, providing a local window into how immigrants allege, often under penalty of perjury, their medical conditions are being handled in ICE custody.
This guide provides instructions on accessing cases on PACER terminals at federal courthouses along with other resources and reporting ideas. At the end of the guide, detention centers named in habeas cases identified by KFF Health News and AP are listed by state.
___
READ COVERAGE FROM AP AND KFF HEALTH NEWS
From festering infections to untreated cancer, ICE detainees across the US describe medical neglect
Takeaways from AP-KFF investigation into allegations of medical neglect by detainees in ICE custody
___
ARE IMMIGRANTS ALLEGING MEDICAL NEGLECT NEAR YOU?
On PACER, attempting to access habeas corpus records will often yield the warning, “You do not have permission to view this document.” That’s because of a federal rule limiting online access. But anyone can access those records by going to the public access terminals in the clerk’s office of the U.S. District Court where the case was filed.
There are 94 such courts, with computers that the public can use to search an unfiltered version of PACER. Journalists can pull up filings from immigrant detainees by selecting “463 (Habeas Corpus - Alien Detainee)” from the “Nature of Suit” dropdown, then either read through them on the spot or print out the documents, typically at a cost of 10 cents per page.
Records for many cases are also available through Habeas Dockets, a project of the nonprofit Immigration Justice Transparency Initiative, which uses a network of volunteers to pull these records from court terminals and post them online. Depending on the region, Habeas Dockets ’ portal may already contain supporting records for a substantial number of cases in your area.
___
CONSIDERATIONS FOR USING PACER AT COURTHOUSE TERMINALS
— It isn’t just immigrant detainees who file habeas corpus cases. To ensure you’re looking at cases filed by immigrants, select “463 (Habeas Corpus - Alien Detainee)” from the “Nature of Suit” menu. There may be more under codes like “460 (Deportation)” or “530 (Habeas Corpus (General))” but most will be “463.”
— Some states have more than one federal district court. The case filings will only be available at the district court where it was filed. For example, Iowa has two federal district courts, the Northern District of Iowa and the Southern District of Iowa. Records filed in the Northern District will only be accessible at the Northern District terminals.
— Filings in immigration-related habeas corpus cases often contain detainees’ Alien Number, or A-Number, which can be helpful for requesting interviews or connecting with them through online platforms used for people behind bars.
— Massachusetts is an exception in that the federal district court there allows habeas corpus records to go online 30 days after filing.
___ REPORTING SUGGESTIONS
– If you find a case in your area, try contacting the listed attorney. If you can’t find their contact information, look up the case on Habeas Dockets then click “ → View docket on CourtListener ” and select the “PARTIES AND ATTORNEYS” tab. If you spot the term “pro se,” that means the detainee does not have a lawyer.
– Detainees are often transferred between facilities. To check where a detainee is currently held, you should be able to find them using ICE’s Detainee Locator.
– Depending on where they are held, it may be possible to message or call a detainee through an app like Securus and GettingOut.
– Though these are public records, such cases often contain sensitive personal and medical information. Some detainees fear they or their relatives could suffer retaliation if their case received broad attention. We opted not to publish detainees' names unless we were able to reach them or their lawyers/families and confirm their willingness. Your newsroom may choose to follow similar ethics.
___
CONSIDERATIONS FOR USING PACER AT COURTHOUSE TERMINALS
— It isn’t just immigrant detainees who file habeas corpus cases. To ensure you’re looking at cases filed by immigrants, select “463 (Habeas Corpus - Alien Detainee)” from the “Nature of Suit” menu. There may be more under codes like “460 (Deportation)” or “530 (Habeas Corpus (General))” but most will be “463.”
— Some states have more than one federal district court. The case filings will only be available at the district court where it was filed. For example, Iowa has two federal district courts, the Northern District of Iowa and the Southern District of Iowa. Records filed in the Northern District will only be accessible at the Northern District terminals.
— Filings in immigration-related habeas corpus cases often contain detainees’ Alien Number, or A-Number, which can be helpful for requesting interviews or connecting with them through online platforms used for people behind bars.
— Massachusetts is an exception in that the federal district court there allows habeas corpus records to go online 30 days after filing.
___
FIND YOUR STATE: DETENTION CENTERS NAMED IN COMPLAINTS
Below are detention centers across 33 states named in complaints reviewed by AP and KFF Health News. The thousands of cases reviewed by the AP and KFF Health News represent just a fraction of habeas corpus cases filed across the country. Other states and facilities not listed here may be included in habeas corpus petitions currently only available at the local courthouse terminals. Use the information on PACER above to find potential cases of detainees alleging medical neglect near you.
(KFF Health News and AP also created an interactive highlighting several of the detention centers with excerpts from court records. Those detention centers are in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. An embed code for a version of that interactive is at the end of this guide.)
ARIZONA
Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center
Central Arizona Florence Correctional Center
Eloy Detention Center
Florence Service Processing Center
— — —
CALIFORNIA
Adelanto ICE Processing Center
California City Detention Facility
Desert View Annex
Golden State Annex
Imperial Regional Detention Facility
Los Angeles ICE Field Office
Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center
Otay Mesa Detention Center
San Francisco ICE Field Office
— — —
COLORADO
Denver Contract Detention Facility (Aurora)
— — —
FLORIDA
Baker Correctional Institution
Broward Transitional Center
FDC Miami
Krome North Service Processing Center
Orange County Jail
Florida Soft Sided Facility South
— — —
GEORGIA
Folkston D Ray ICE Processing Center
Folkston ICE Processing Center
Stewart Detention Center
— — —
IDAHO
Minicassia Detention Center
— — —
ILLINOIS
Broadview ICE Facility
— — —
INDIANA
Clay County Jail
Marion County Jail
Miami Correctional Facility
— — —
IOWA
Woodbury County Jail
— — —
KENTUCKY
Boone County Jail
Hopkins County Jail
— — —
LOUISIANA
Alexandria Staging Facility
Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center
Louisiana ICE Processing Center, Louisiana State Penitentiary
Jackson Parish Correctional Center
Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center
Richwood Correctional Center
South Louisiana ICE Processing Center
Winn Correctional Center
— — —
MAINE
Fort Fairfield Station
— — —
MARYLAND
Baltimore Field Office
— — —
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston ICE Field Office (Burlington)
Plymouth County Correctional Facility
— — —
MICHIGAN
Calhoun County Correctional Center
North Lake Processing Center
— — —
MINNESOTA
Sherburne County Jail
St Paul ICE Field Office
— — —
MISSISSIPPI
Adams County Correctional Center
— — —
NEBRASKA
NDCS Work Ethic Camp
Phelps County Jail
— — —
NEVADA
Henderson Detention Center
Nevada Southern Detention Center
— — —
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Stafford County Correctional Facility
— — —
NEW JERSEY
Delaney Hall Detention Facility
Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility
— — —
NEW MEXICO
Cibola County Correctional Center
Otero County Processing Center
Torrance County Detention Facility
— — —
NEW YORK
Brooklyn MDC
Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center
Nassau County Jail
New York - Federal Plaza Immigration Court
— — —
OHIO
Mahoning County Jail
— — —
OKLAHOMA
Diamondback Correctional Facility
Kay County Detention Center
— — —
OREGON
Portland District Office
— — —
PENNSYLVANIA
Moshannon Valley Processing Center
Philadelphia Federal Detention Center
Pike County Correctional Facility
— — —
TENNESSEE
West Tennessee Detention Facility
— — —
TEXAS
Bluebonnet Detention Facility
Coastal Bend Detention Center
Dilley Immigration Processing Center
El Paso Service Processing Center
El Valle Detention Facility
ERO El Paso Camp East Montana
Houston Contract Detention Facility
IAH Polk Adult Detention Facility
Karnes County Immigration Processing Center
Limestone County Detention Center
Montgomery Processing Center
Port Isabel Service Processing Center
Prairieland Detention Facility
Rio Grande Processing Center
South Texas ICE Processing Center
T. Don Hutto Detention Center
Webb County Detention Center
— — —
VERMONT
Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility
Northwest State Correctional Facility
— — —
VIRGINIA
Caroline Detention Facility
Farmville Detention Center
— — —
WASHINGTON
Northwest ICE Processing Center (Tacoma)
— — —
WYOMING
Sweetwater County Jail
Natrona County Jail
___
READ ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE
Protesters rally against planned Maryland immigration detention facility that’s now paused
3-year-old immigrant suffered alleged sexual abuse during months in federal custody, family says
Inspection finds dozens of violations of detention standards at a major immigration camp in Texas
Trump’s $45 billion expansion of immigrant detention sites faces pushback from communities
___
EMBED THIS GRAPHIC
To embed, insert this code into your CMS:
!-- start AP embed --
iframe src=′ https://flo.uri.sh/story/3677551/embed ′ title=‘Interactive or visual content’ class=‘flourish-embed-iframe’ frameborder=‘0’ scrolling=‘no’ style=‘width:100%;height:600px;’ sandbox=‘allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation’/iframe
!-- end AP embed --
___
Localize It is a resource produced regularly by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions and ideas can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org. View guides published in the last 30 days here.
