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ICE does not release a complete list of the detention facilities that it uses,” said Dr. Susan Long, cofounder of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), an organization that makes immigration data available to the public. The agency “suppresses quite a large number of them under a variety of guises,” the expert added.
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It is nearly impossible to figure out how many county facilities are designated as short-term detention centers, as they are not made public. Long’s team at TRAC, which has been attempting to obtain these agreements through public records requests, often hits a dead end, as they are withheld under a provision of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that exempts agencies from disclosing confidential or privileged commercial or financial information.
The lack of information also concerns the TRAC cofounder for reasons beyond transparency. Long-term facilities have higher quality-of-life requirements than short-term. For example, long-term facilities are often required to have medical staff, in case of an emergency.
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