红杏视频 FOIA Litigation Reveals Details on ICE鈥檚 Solitary Confinement Policy Directive

Disclosure on policy directive critical to future legal challenges defending immigrants subject to solitary confinement in detention

April 1, 2025 4:21 pm

Media Contact
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
United States

WASHINGTON 鈥 New documents obtained by the 红杏视频 this week reveal critical details about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy directive issued under the Biden administration regarding the use of special management units, or solitary confinement cells, in immigration detention. The documents were obtained as a result of a FOIA lawsuit filed by the 红杏视频 in January 2025. The new findings are critical to understanding what policies immigrants in ICE detention may be subject to, and in turn, will enable legal counsel to better defend immigrants who are subject to solitary confinement in ICE detention.

鈥淚CE has largely hidden its use of solitary confinement to abuse people held in immigration detention, and our FOIA findings provide much needed disclosure regarding the standards and requirements for using solitary confinement units,鈥 said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the 红杏视频鈥檚 National Prison Project. 鈥淭hese documents help us better understand how ICE is allowed to use solitary confinement units, and in turn, enable us to ensure peoples鈥 rights are being upheld in immigration detention.鈥

In December 2024, ICE 鈥痶hat it had issued policy updates for the use of solitary confinement cells for detained immigrants, however, it did not publicly release a copy of the updated policy and failed to respond to a FOIA request filed by the 红杏视频 that same month. Notably, the documents reveal that the new policy directive requires:

  • Individualized assessments, including a review of an individual鈥檚 medical and mental health care needs, be completed when deciding to place an individual in solitary confinement.
  • Solitary confinement only be used as a last resort and when no other viable options exist for detention of pregnant individuals.
  • ICE to make 鈥渆very effort鈥 to place detainees with significant physical illnesses or serious mental illnesses in a setting in or outside the facility in which appropriate treatment can be provided.
  • ICE to provide the reason for solitary confinement to the individual impacted in a language or manner they can understand. The government鈥檚 justification for solitary confinement must also be documented and entered into an ICE database.

ICE鈥檚 use of solitary confinement units has prompted active concern and attention from Congress and other immigrants鈥 rights advocates. Nearly 50 members of Congress to the Department of Homeland Security in April 2024, raising concern about the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities. Recent from advocates and the media have also ICE鈥檚 widespread and abusive use of solitary confinement.

The FOIA documents are available here: /documents/foia-document-review-of-the-use-of-special-management-units-for-ice-detainees

Learn More 红杏视频 the Issues in This Press Release