Federal Reports

During our unannounced inspection of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (Buffalo) in Batavia, New York, we found that Buffalo’s staff generally complied with Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011, as revised in December 2016, for facility conditions, kitchen standards, legal access, medical care, recreation (general population only), and the voluntary work program. However, facility and ICE staff did not fully comply with standards related to the use of force, staff-detainee communication, detainee grievances, recreation in the Special Management Unit (SMU), classification, admission and release, and medical unit staffing.
•
We found one instance of an inappropriate use of force and two instances where facility staff should have used calculated rather than immediate force.
•
ICE did not always provide timely responses to detainee requests. Facility staff did not maintain an accurate or complete log for paper requests, nor did they always provide responses to detainee grievances within the required 5 days or capture all response dates in the grievance log. Likewise, the Grievance Appeal Board did not always conduct reviews within 5 days of each appeal.
•
Buffalo facility staff did not provide detainees in the SMU with exercise equipment in the outdoor space, prevent detainees of different classification levels from comingling in the same holding area, ensure detainees could hear or view captions for the orientation video, or ensure detainees’ identification wristbands were legible and always worn.
•
Vacant dentist and physician positions caused delays in care.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this evaluation to determine whether the EPA and its contractors followed Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology flight equipment deployment procedures during the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment emergency.

Summary of Findings

During its response to the train derailment, the EPA and its contractors followed existing practices for deploying the ASPECT aircraft. Although the EPA followed existing practices for deploying ASPECT, the documented procedures that were in place remain largely unknown to all involved stakeholders and lack the clarity needed to avoid negatively affecting decision-making related to an emergency response.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

Semiannual Report to Congress: October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025