September 12, 2003
Memorandum for: Anthony Tangeman, Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner,
Office of Detention and Removal, BICE
From: American Bar Association Delegation to El Paso Service Processing Center
Subject: Report on Observations during a Tour of the El Paso Service Processing Center
I.

Introduction

This memorandum evaluates and summarizes facts and findings gathered
at the Service Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. The information was gathered via
observation of the facility by the delegation and interviews with detainees and facility
staff on July 9, 2003.
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) (formerly
the INS) promulgated the “INS Detention Standards” in November 2000 to insure the
“safe, secure and humane treatment of individuals detained by the INS.” The thirty-six
Standards contained in the Detention Operations Manual cover a broad spectrum of
issues ranging from visitation policies to grievance procedures and food service. These
standards apply to BICE Service Processing Centers (“SPCs”), Contract Detention
Facilities (“C.D.F.”), and state and local government used by BICE through
Intergovernmental Service Agreements (“I.G.S.A.”). The Detention Standards went into
effect at SPCs on January 1, 2001, and were to have been implemented at each facility by
January 2003. The Standards constitute a “floor” not a “ceiling” for treatment of BICE
detainees. In other words, they are meant to establish the minimal requirements that
BICE must adhere to in the operation of its facilities. Each District Office or Officer in
Charge (“OIC”) of a facility may, in his or her discretion, promulgate policies and
practices affording BICE detainees more enhanced rights and protections than those
provided for by the Standards.
II.

The El Paso Facility

The El Paso Service Processing Center (“El Paso SPC”) is located in El
Paso, Texas, on the Mexican border. The facility houses both men and women,
segregated according to their criminal/disciplinary history. Most detainees do not have a
criminal history, other than immigration violations.
El Paso SPC has a capacity of 784 detainees. On the day we visited, the
population was 670, including 93 women, with 2 individuals in the segregation unit. The
average detainee sees a judge in two weeks. This is a considerable improvement from
only a year ago, when an individual might wait up to a month for his/her first hearing.
Many of the Mexican detainees leave immediately after seeing a judge. However,
detainees from other countries must wait longer for travel arrangements to be made
before departure. The facility has worked closely with several foreign consulates to

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attempt to speed up departure for large groups from those countries. The average length
of stay in the facility is 23 days, due to the large number of Mexican nationals at the
facility who leave quickly. For those detainees who are pursuing legal remedies to
deportation, the typical stay varies from several months to over a year.
Detainees arrive at the facility from a number of sources, primarily from the
Border Patrol. Most detainees are from Mexico. According to the staff, the countries
currently most represented among detainees after Mexico are Brazil, Guatemala, El
Salvador and Honduras. There are also Asian, African, and Middle-Eastern detainees.
El Paso SPC is a secure facility, surrounded by fences with concertina wire. The
detainees’ schedules are highly regulated, and they may not move from one part of the
facility to another without being escorted by a guard. There is a processing facility, a law
library, a dining facility, and a medical facility. Each housing unit opens onto an outdoor
recreation facility. We visited two types of housing units, a newer model and an older
one. In the newer model, beds were placed around a central area with tables for indoor
recreation. In the older model, the area with beds was somewhat separated from the
indoor recreation area, providing a more private area for sleeping. However, the staff
stated the newer model is easier to police, since everyone is in a central area. Toilet and
shower facilities are segregated from the housing unit by partial screens, but are open
within. The staff stated that individuals who have difficulty with the lack of privacy have
been accommodated with escort to a more private area in extreme situations.
The Standards require that each facility “develop a site-specific detainee
handbook to serve as an overview of, and guide to, the detention policies, rules, and
procedures in effect at the facility. The handbook will also describe the services,
programs, and opportunities available through various sources including the facility.”
The handbook is supposed to constitute a comprehensive guide to life in the facility and
include, at a minimum, the information specified in Section III, A through J of the
Detainee Handbook Standard, of the Standards. The purpose of the handbook
requirement is to give detainees notice of all applicable rules, policies, and privileges of
the facility.
El Paso SPC staff stated that each detainee gets a handbook upon arrival. We
were provided with a copy of the handbook, which complies with the above standard.
The handbook is printed with both English and Spanish in the same booklet. One of the
five interviewees stated he had not been given a copy of the handbook and another stated
he had been given it, but not immediately upon entry.
III.

Observation of Implementation of Legal Access Standards

The remainder of this memorandum focuses on portions of the Standards relating
particularly to areas of legal access, as well as general concerns raised out of observations
during the general tour. BICE’s stated goal in promulgating these Standards was: To
insure the “safe, secure, and humane treatment” of detainees. In particular, the
memorandum focuses on El Paso SPC’s Standards concerning access to counsel and
legal rights, including the following: (1) Visitation; (2) Telephone Access; (3) Legal

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Materials; and (4) Group Rights Presentations. The memorandum also addresses other
concerns observed during the course of the visit including: Recreation Issues; Medical
Care and Religious Issues.
A.

Visitation

The range of permissible visitors at El Paso SPC includes: attorneys, legal
representatives, friends and family. Contact visits are allowed, although space is limited.
1.

Visitation by Attorneys
a.

Visitation Times

According to the Standards, legal visitation should be allowed seven (7) days a
week for a minimum of eight (8) hours on weekdays, and four (4) hours on weekends.
Legal visitations should not be terminated for meals or routine official counts.
Procedures should be in place to permit the detainee to receive a meal, or recreation, after
the interview.
The El Paso facility exceeds the minimum legal visitation policy, allowing
attorneys access seven days a week, thirteen hours a day. The handbook states that in
emergencies, 24 hour access will be provided, if possible. Paralegals and accredited
representatives are allowed access eight hours a day Monday through Friday and four
hours a day on weekends, in accordance with the Standards. Sack meals are provided for
detainees who must meet with their legal representatives during mealtime. The handbook
is silent as to make-up of lost recreation time.
b.

Attorney Access

Attorneys are granted access upon proof that they are attorneys (bar card or other
documentation). G-28s are not required to be filed prior to a first interview. Paralegals
and accredited representatives must be on an approved list to be admitted.
c.

Security Concerns

The Standards provide that, in BICE owned-and-operated SPC facilities,
detainees should not be strip-searched after legal visitation, unless there is reasonable
suspicion that a detainee is concealing contraband.
Previously, the El Paso facility had a policy in place to strip search detainees after
contact visits with attorneys. According to the OIC, this policy has been changed and
detainees are not now routinely strip-searched after contact visits with attorneys. Strip
searches are now reportedly only performed where there is reasonable suspicion of a
security violation or problem.
d.

Access to Contact Information for Legal Services

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The Detainee Handbook states that a list of free legal organizations will be posted
in all detainee housing areas and other appropriate areas. Similarly, the Standards
provide that information lists with pro bono and non-governmental agency information
should be provided in the detainee’s language, updated, posted clearly, and accompanied
by instructions on how to contact such agencies. The delegation was shown a current
posting of free legal services in the housing units visited.
Three of the detainees interviewed stated that they were well aware of the
existence of pro bono or reduced rate legal services, as they are posted prominently in the
housing units. They stated that staff members had assisted them in contacting those
agencies. However, two of the individuals complained of the non-response of one listed
agency and the fees charged by another.
e.

Visitation Conditions

The Standards provide that facilities should allow detainees to meet privately
with their current, or prospective, legal representatives and legal assistants, and to meet
with their consular officials. The policy concerning legal service visitation is also
outlined in the Detainee Handbook.
The attorney visitation area at the El Paso SPC has a row of booths, with
plexiglass separating attorneys from clients. Attorneys must speak to their clients
through telephones in this area. The area has no privacy from the SPC staff, on either
side of the dividers. Attorneys do not have the privacy required for confidential
communication with their clients in this area. Moreover, if more than one attorney is
visiting at a time, it is very noisy and difficult to hear through the telephones.
There are four contact rooms available for use by attorneys. These areas provide
a private, quiet area for confidential communication with clients. However, during busy
periods, there are sometimes more than four attorneys visiting clients at any one time.
Thus, it is not always possible to communicate privately with one’s clients. The staff
stated that the contact rooms may be reserved in advance. However, in practice this has
proved difficult, since the staff does not always man the phones to the facility and the
voice mail box is often full, allowing no telephone access to the main desk.
Attorneys are allowed visits during meal or count times without interruption.
Detainees are provided snacks in the case of missed meals. According to the staff,
interpreters may accompany attorneys during contact visits, with advance permission.
Interpreters are also allowed in the non-contact area, but the physical arrangement of this
area makes it very difficult to accommodate an additional person.
The same problem that exists with reserving contact rooms in advance (not
always possible to get someone on the phone and mailbox full) also provides a challenge
when trying to locate detainees by phone. However, if one can get through on the phone
system and knows the detainee’s A-number, it is relatively easy to locate the detainee.
2.

Visitation by Family, Friends, and the Media

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a.

Visitation Times and Duration

The Standards provide that Facilities should permit authorized persons to visit
detainees within secure and operational constraints. To maintain detainee morale and
family relationships, BICE encourages visits from family and friends. Additionally,
facilities should permit members of the media and non-governmental organizations to
have access to non-classified and non-confidential information about the facility’s
operation. The Standards provide that visiting hours should be clearly posted and
permitted during set hours on weekends and holidays. Special arrangements should be
available for family members who are unable to visit during regular visiting hours. Visits
should be for at least 30 minutes.
The visitation schedule was posted in the visitor lobby and is listed in the
Detainee Handbook. According to the Handbook, visiting hours for general visitation are
7:00 p.m. through 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends, the hours are 12:00
pm to 3:00 pm. Special visits during other days and hours may be scheduled by
appointment. We were advised by the staff that they do allow families with special
circumstances (i.e., traveling from out of the area) to visit during non-standard times. .
Contact visits must be requested and scheduled in advance. Visits with family members
who are also detainees are only scheduled on weekends and holidays. According to the
staff, there are currently no family members detained at the facility.
The Standards require that visits should be for at least 30 minutes. The staff
advised us that, while this is their goal, there are times when it is not feasible, due to the
number of visitors present at the same time. They stated that when there is a large group
of people waiting to visit, visits are limited to 20 to 30 minutes. When there is no line
waiting, there is no restriction on visit length.
b.

Other Limits on Visitors

The Handbook states that if the visitors bring children 17 years of age or under,
they are expected to remain under the direct supervision of the adult visitors so they will
not disturb others who have visitors. Visitors must follow the posted dress code. All
items passed between visitors and detainees must be pre-approved by a staff member.
c.

Security Concerns

The Standards provide that detainee’s at BICE facilities may be subject to a patdown search before a contact visit and may be subject to a strip search after a contact
visit. The Detainee Handbook provides that detainees will be searched upon admission to
the Facility and when there is reasonable cause to believe that the detainee may have
contraband concealed on his or her person. It does not specify whether these are strip
searches or pat down searches. According to the staff, in the past, strip searches were
conducted after contact visits with attorneys and/or family members. However, the
director stated that a new policy is now in effect and detainees will only be strip searched
after contact visits with attorneys if there is reasonable cause to believe the detainee has
obtained contraband from his or her attorney.

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B.

Telephone Access

The Standards provide that facilities shall permit detainees to have reasonable and
equitable access to telephones. Phone booths were present in all of the housing units,
with nearby bulletin boards listing various telephone numbers, consular telephone
numbers, instructions to use the telephones, and telephone rates. Overall, El Paso SPC
appears to have an adequate number of phones. The telephones were equipped with debit
card systems, with instructions in English and Spanish. Detainees are able to purchase
debit cards to make local calls for $0.18 per minute. Long distance calls are $0.85 per
minute and international calls are $0.90 per minute to Mexico and $0.99 per minute to
other countries.
The Standards dictate that detainees should be able to make free calls through
pre-programmed technology to consular offices, free legal service providers, local courts,
government offices and family members (in case of emergency). The staff advised us
that detainees may make free calls in the above-mentioned cases, and that detainees who
have no funds may additionally make free calls to family members and attorneys in nonemergency situations. The director advised the tour members that if such problems are
experienced in the future, to contact him with the details and he will resolve the problem.
BICE standards require that detainees should be able to discuss their legal cases
on the phone in a private environment. The phones in the El Paso facility do not provide
such privacy. The phones are in a visible, open environment, surrounded by other
detainees and/or guards. However, we were advised that the calls are not monitored and
there is no attempt made to listen to phone calls. The phones are not located near the
guard station. The main problem with the phones appears to be that it is very noisy in the
area.
Staff members indicated that attorneys may leave messages for detainees with the
deportation officers. In practice, one attorney on the tour had had good luck with this
procedure, and one had not. Several of the detainees interviewed stated that they did not
see their deportation officers regularly, and one claimed he had not been able to get in
contact with his deportation officer for two months when he needed him. Again, the
director asked us to bring problems to his attention when they occur. He stated the policy
is for deportation officers to visit their assigned detainees once a week.
Two of the interviewed detainees stated they had had trouble with the phone
system. One of them stated he had been cut off several times, and could not get through
to local numbers with his phone card on occasion. He stated he made complaints about
these problems and that the problems seem to have been resolved. The second detainee
stated he had been cut off from telephone calls on several occasions with a family
member when discussing complaints about the facility. That individual also stated it
takes up to two days to get access to free phone calls when needed.
C.

Legal Materials

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The Standards mandate that the El Paso facility shall establish and maintain a law
library. The library must be adequately lighted, reasonably quiet, and large enough to
support legal research and writing. It must also contain an adequate number of tables and
chairs to accommodate all detainees who wish to use the facility. Finally, the library
should provide one typewriter or computer per five detainees, as well as sufficient writing
materials and texts to enable detainees to conduct research and prepare legal documents.
The El Paso library facility provides adequate space and facilities for legal
research and writing. According to the staff, any detainee could visit the library during
scheduled visiting hours to work on his/her case. Visits to the library for recreational
purposes are restricted to limited numbers of detainees on a first-come first-served basis.
The library schedule posted in the Detainee Handbook provides for visits five days per
week by men, but only two days per week are set aside for visits by women, due to the
low number of women at the facility. Detainees are not allowed to visit the library for the
purpose of assisting other detainees with their cases. However, according to the staff,
there was no restriction against detainees helping other detainees with their cases in the
housing areas.
1.

Materials Identified in Attachment A-2 of the Standards

The Standards require the El Paso library to maintain the legal materials listed in
Attachment A-2 of the Access to Legal Materials chapter of the Detention Operations
Manual. These materials must be updated regularly and supplemented with timely
information regarding significant regulatory and statutory changes affecting the detention
and deportation of aliens. A current list of available texts and materials should be posted
in the library. To ensure these requirements are met, the facility must designate an
employee with responsibility for inspecting, updating and maintaining the library
materials in good order
The El Paso library appeared to have all of the materials required. A listing of the
materials was posted in the library and was presented to the tour participants.
Additionally, the library maintains updated access to West Law on CD Rom. The library
manager informed us he is working to obtain on-line access to West Law, but so far has
not been able to resolve the security issues. Library staff members are available at all
times during visiting hours to assist detainees with locating needed materials.

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2.

Library Conditions

The El Paso library is adequately lit and spacious. It contains several large tables
for working, in addition to the computer and typing stations. There are two computers
and five typewriters. There appears to be an adequate supply of paper and pencils.
3.

Photocopies and Mail

Detainees are provided with photocopies of materials upon request. There is no
charge for photocopies of materials needed for one’s legal case.
Under the Standards, indigent detainees should be provided with two envelopes
and three regular stamps for legal mail. Specifically, the Standards provide that “[t]he
facility will provide indigent detainees with free envelopes and stamps for mail related to
a legal matter, including correspondence to a legal representative, potential legal
representative, or any court.” According to staff members, the facility provides postage
and envelopes to all detainees upon request. However, detainees must purchase their own
postage for packages.
4. Assistance for Illiterate and Non-English Speakers
The Standards provide that detainees who are not proficient in English, or who
need other assistance in preparing legal documents, should have the opportunity to seek
such assistance from other detainees, or pro bono counsel.
The Handbook states that detainees may not assist one another while in the
library. Library staff members are available to assist all detainees in the library.
Presumably, this would only include those detainees who can speak either English or
Spanish.
D.

Group Rights Presentations

The Standards provide that facilities shall permit authorized persons to make
presentations to groups of detainees for the purpose of informing them of U.S.
immigration law, and procedures consistent with the security and orderly operation of the
facility. All facilities must cooperate fully with authorized persons seeking to make such
presentations.
The El Paso facility facilitates group rights presentations by three local agencies,
CLINIC, Las Americas and the Diocesan Migrant Refugee Service. The presentations
are given each Friday, with a rotating schedule between the agencies presenting them. In
addition, the Florence Project “Know Your Rights” video is shown daily to interested
viewers. The Handbook states that presentations are held on both Wednesdays and
Fridays, and that the housing unit officer would advise persons when the presentations
would take place. Among the interviewed detainees, it appeared that some detainees are
not aware of the presentations being given. This appeared clearly to be a matter

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involving lack of communication, not any attempt by the facility to keep detainees from
attending the presentations.
IV. Other General Observations Unrelated to the Legal Access Standards
A. Recreation
The Standards require generally that “all facilities shall provide BICE detainees
with access to recreational programs and activities, under conditions of security and
supervision that protect their safety and welfare.” In addition, the Standards provide that
“[e]very effort shall be made to place a detainee in a facility that provides outdoor
recreation. If a facility does not have an outdoor area, a large recreation room with
exercise equipment and access to sunlight will be provided.” Where outdoor recreation is
available, each detainee must have access to at least one hour per day of recreation, five
days a week, weather permitting.
The El Paso facility allows each detainee one hour per day of outdoor recreation
in a yard attached to the housing unit. There are facilities for basketball, soccer and
weightlifting. Detainees may arrange tournaments if approved. Recently, aerobics
classes have been arranged for women detainees. Sports equipment and wear are
provided for participation in tournaments and other games. Individuals in segregation
have access to a basketball court for outdoor recreation.
Indoor recreation includes television, ping-pong and board games. In addition,
the staff arranges for bingo tournaments and board game competitions. In the newer
housing units, noise appears to be a considerable problem for those wishing to watch
television, since the recreation area is not separated from the main living unit. In the
older housing facilities, the recreation area is partially separated, allowing for a somewhat
more pleasant environment for indoor recreation.
B. Work Opportunity
According to the staff, any detainee who wants to can work. Detainees are
allowed to work up to 40 hours a week, and are paid in cash, at the rate of $1.00 for each
eight hours of work. Long-term detainees are given preference in job assignments, since
the more interesting job assignments require some amount of training. Those who
volunteer for kitchen staff receive a certificate of training after a certain period of time in
that job.
One interviewed detainee felt that the job assignments were not given out fairly
(he didn’t think it was fair for long-term detainees to get the “best” jobs) but agreed that,
if one was willing to take any assignment, there was work available for all. Another
interviewee believed that preferential treatment was given to Spanish-speaking detainees.
However, he did acknowledge that this could be due to practical considerations (having a
whole team able to communicate within itself) rather than to any sort of prejudice.

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C. Medical Care
The Standards set forth a broad policy that “detainees … have access to medical
services that promote detainee health and general well-being.” The Standards require
that detainees be provided with an initial medical screening and have access to primary
care, and emergency care. Although emergency dental care is required, “[r]outine dental
treatment may be provided to detainees from whom dental treatment is inaccessible for
prolonged periods because of detention for over six months.”
The facilities in El Paso are operated by U.S. Public Health Services personnel.
There appears to be good medical care available to all detainees. There are physicians
and nurses on staff, as well as a psychologist and a counselor.
All detainees receive an initial medical screening. Women are all screened for
pregnancy. Emergency medical care is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Sick
call is conducted daily, with first preference being to those who are most sick. Detainees
must sign up in advance for sick call, the evening prior, between the hours of 5:00 and
7:00. Thus, it appears that if you become sick after 7:00 pm at night, you might not see a
doctor until two days later. The staff stated that virtually all (non-emergency) sick call
cases are handled within 48 hours. One detainee interviewed confirmed that one could
wake up feeling sick one morning and not be allowed to go to sick call until the next day.
There is a system in place to provide special diets to detainees for medical
reasons. The medical staff has a plan in place to deal with contagious diseases which
might sweep through a housing unit. The hospital facility has nine beds, three in
isolation. There are agreements in place with local health care providers to provide care
that the staff at the El Paso facility cannot provide.
Overall, with the minor exception of potentially delayed access to non-emergency
sick call, the facility appears to be providing appropriate access to medical care to
detainees.
D. Religious Issues
Religious needs appear to be well cared for at the El Paso facility. A schedule of
religious services is posted in all the housing units. Services are available six days a
week. Those with special religious needs may make a request to the Chaplain. The
Chaplain stated he has been able to facilitate any legitimate requests for special
diet/services. However, one interviewed detainee did claim that he had made three
requests for a Bible, to no avail.
Special religious diets may be requested of the Chaplain. If the Chaplain finds the
request valid, he authorizes the diet. On interviewed detainee was very appreciative of
the special dietary provisions made for him (he was Jewish). He had only one complaint,
and it did not pertain to a staff member. He stated that he and some of the other Jewish
detainees saw one of the detainee kitchen work detail using a non-kosher utensil to cut
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their food. When asked if he had complained about this, he said no. He stated that he
was so happy in general with the special accommodations made for his faith that he did
not want to rock the boat or create any problems.
The Chaplain has tried to accommodate all faiths and believes he has been
relatively successful. The Jewish detainee interviewed praised the accommodations
made for his faith highly. The Jewish detainees had been provided with a quite, private
place for worship and with the candles necessary for their worship.
The Chaplain has a special fund to purchase religious items for detainees. He
makes every effort to allow for relevant religious celebration of feast days in all religions.
E. Detainee Classification
All detainees are classified upon arrival. The initial determination is made based
on a detainee’s criminal history. Felons are classified at the highest security level.
Successive determinations are made based on a detainee’s disciplinary record. Most of
the detainees at the El Paso facility do not have a criminal history, other than immigration
violations.
There are three levels of classification. Detainees are segregated by the color of
their uniforms, for easy identification. The Handbook states that a classification level
may be appealed to the Classification Officer. However, detainees under disciplinary
restrictions may not appeal their classifications.
F. Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures
1.

Discipline

The disciplinary procedure described in the Detainee Handbook consists of a
listing of the different categories of offenses and their possible sanctions. These
categories include “Greatest” (e.g., killing, rioting, or hostage taking), “High” (e.g.,
including engaging in sexual acts or extortion), “High Moderate” (e.g., indecent
exposure, stealing or insolence towards a staff member), and “Low Moderate” (e.g.,
malingering, smoking where prohibited, using abusive or obscene language). The
possible sanctions are many, and range anywhere from the initiation of criminal
proceedings, disciplinary transfer, or disciplinary segregation to monetary restitution, loss
of privileges, restriction to housing unit, a reprimand, or a warning.
The Handbook provides detailed rules for responses to disciplinary infractions,
including detailing the detainee’s rights. The staff advised us that the El Paso facility
does not actually have a great deal of disciplinary problems, due to the low percentage of
criminals in the population.

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2.

Grievance Procedure

The Standards provide that each facility must develop standard operating
procedures that address grievances and must guarantee against any reprisals. An
informal procedure should be in place for a detainee to present his or her concern to any
staff member at any time.
The Detainee Handbook states that no adverse actions will be taken against
anyone for filing a grievance. However, those considered to be abusing the grievance
system will have their grievances returned to them unprocessed. The Handbook states
that the facility will make every effort to resolve grievances at the lowest possible level.
Staff members are encouraged to attempt to resolve problems informally, when it is
within the scope of their authority. Detainees are not required to pursue grievances at the
lowest level, or informally, if they do not believe this would be productive.
Formal written grievances must be submitted five days after the event complained
of or five days after the unsuccessful resolution of an informal grievance. Detainees are
allowed to assist one another in filing grievances, but may not actually submit grievances
on another’s behalf.
The Handbook states that “if possible” the results of the grievance will be
translated into the griever’s native language. The staff stated that they have plans in
effect to communicate effectively with all detainees in the facility. They do rely on other
detainees where there is a language problem. They also have access to telephone
translation services.
If a detainee is not happy with the results of his grievance, he may appeal the
results within five days to a Detainee Grievance Committee, chaired by the Assistant
OIC. The detainee may present his case to the committee and will receive a written
response. That decision may be appealed to the OIC.
The El Paso facility has an Emergency Grievance procedure in effect for
situations involving imminent danger to a detainee’s health and welfare. Additionally,
there are procedures in place to provide for confidential filing of a grievance.
The Detainee Handbook provides the address and phone number for making a
complaint of officer misconduct or abuse to the Department of Justice.
G. Miscellaneous
Several detainees complained of difficulties in getting cash in the facility, in order
to purchase phone cards. Postal money orders are only cashed once a week. Therefore,
if a money order arrives on certain days, it may be nearly a week before the detainee has
access to the money. Some detainees have had cash sent through to mail to avoid this
problem, not a particularly secure solution. One detainee had had $200 in cash sent
through the mail lost for a period of time. He believed the staff worked to find it as
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quickly as possible. One detainee had been denied access to free phone calls because he
had funds available. However, the funds were in the form of a money order and thus not
really available at the time. The OIC stated if this happened in the future to contact him
with details and he would resolve it.
V. Conclusion
There were minor problems noted on the tour and voiced to the OIC. He seemed
genuinely receptive to fixing any problems that arose in the future. Areas where tour
participants and/or interviewees felt improvements could be made were:
- Better facilities for attorney visitation, to insure confidential client
communications
- More privacy at telephone stations in the housing areas
- Ability to use 800 numbers at telephone stations in the housing areas, or quicker
access to funds sent via money order
Overall, the tour participants were impressed with the El Paso facility. The OIC
and staff were extremely open, helpful and generous with their time during the tour.

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