From Persecution to Prison - Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of ...

medical, dental and mental health care where absence of care would compromisetheir health or well-being. 333The INS Detention Standards and the DIHS manual both referenceindependent, professional organizations that set standards for treatmentof incarcerated people. “Medical facilities in service processing centersand contract detention facilities will maintain current accreditation by theNational Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). Each medicalfacility will strive for accreditation with the Joint Commission on theAccreditation of Health Care Organizations,” (JCAHO), according to theINS Detention Standards. 334 The DIHS manual said it adopted the standardsof NCCHC, JCAHO and the American Correctional Association(ACA). 335 The NCCHC has a voluntary accreditation program that grewout of an initiative of the American Medical Association in the 1970s,with accreditation won after the NCCHC gives its professional judgmentthat the facility has met NCCHC’s standards. 336The 36 INS Detention Standards, along with mandatory operating proceduresfor complying with them, were to be implemented in phases at allfacilities in which INS detainees are held. As of January 2001 the standardsapplied to all INS Service Processing Centers (“SPCs”), which aredetention centers operated by the INS and Contract Detention Facilities(“CDFs”), operated by private companies under contract to the INS andinclude the Elizabeth and Wackenhut detention centers. 337The INS also uses hundreds of local facilities, usually county jails, governedby Inter-Governmental Service Agreements (IGSAs). 338 According toimmigration and asylum advocates, more than 60% of all INS detaineesare held in state, county or municipal jails. 339 The INS detention standardsonly apply to those IGSAs that house INS detainees for 72 hours orlonger. 340 However, the additional operating procedures intended toensure compliance at SPCs and CDFs will not be mandatory for IGSAs. 341Rather, “IGSA facilities may adopt, adapt, or establish alternatives to the334INS Detention Standard: Medical Care335DIHS Manual, chapt 1.336Standards for Health Services in Jails, National Commission on Correctional Health Care,1996, 2d printing, appendix O, Health Care Accreditation Information [NCCHC Standards].337ABA, A New Era, p.1.338INS Detention Standards.339Testimony submitted to the Immigration and Claims Subcommittee of the House Committeeon the Judiciary at the December 19, 2001 hearing: “A Review of the Department ofJustice Immigration Detention Policies” by member organizations of the Detention WatchNetwork.340INS Detention Standards, Introduction.341INS Detention Standards, Introduction.LEGAL STANDARDS 175