CONTACT: James Kennelly, Hudson County
PHONE: 201-369-4386, 201966-3008
Hudson County Correctional Center Response to Detention Watch Report
The Hudson County Correctional Center (HCCC) strives to treat all individuals in its custody with dignity and respect and to address their concerns as best it can within the confines of the statutory requirements that govern the facility and the ICE Detention Program. As the Detention Watch report on HCCC acknowledges, “Community Based Organizations have commended HCJ [HCCC] management on their willingness to meet with advocates and address concerns raised by detained immigrants.”
As noted in the report at the top of page two, “The majority of the immigrants in detention are sent to HCJ [HCCC] after being apprehended in or completing a criminal sentence at facilities within the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and some upstate New York counties.” Individuals in HCCC’s ICE Detention population are, often serving or have already served sentences for criminal activity and are awaiting deportation to their native countries. This affects how they are kept in HCCC custody.
For example, the report recommends that HCCC group detainees by common language. Correctional Center staff does do this. However the detainees are assessed for housing assignment based first on the nature of the convictions that led to their detention prior to their deportation proceedings. Lower security risk detainees such as those convicted of non-violent crimes, are grouped together and higher security risk detainees such as those convicted of violent crimes, are grouped together. This is to help ensure the safety of the detainees, staff and the public. Detainees who speak the same language and share the same risk classification tier are usually grouped together. Doing so actually improves the supervision of daily detainee activities.
It is worth noting that the side bar on page five of the report, entitled “Jordana’s Story” describes what is more of an atypical case of a detainee at HCCC—as the report notes on page 2, as mentioned above, “The majority of the immigrants in detention are sent to HCJ after being apprehended in or completing a sentence…” Although the report did not say who told Jordana this, no HCCC staff member would tell any detainee that they were assigned to the facility as “punishment” for exercising her legal rights.
The policy of deporting immigrants convicted of crimes is a federal policy. The Hudson County Correctional Center and the County of Hudson has no role in defining and enforcing this policy. HCCC simply serves a holding facility prior to deportation of criminally convicted immigrants. So Hudson County and HCCC have no control over the length of stay by criminally convicted immigrants facing deportation.
To ensure that detainees in our custody can express their concerns fully and freely and to monitor the custody of detainees, Hudson County Director of Corrections Oscar Aviles invited First Friends, a community based organization concerned with the rights of the incarcerated to become a daily presence in the ICE Detention housing units. Any detainee with a concern can express that concern to First Friends and have it sent directly to Mr. Aviles.
While the report acknowledges on page six that, “Except where a publication is cited, the information reported here is based solely on the claims made by the detained individuals without independent corroboration,” HCCC leadership has provided the following point-by point response to the recommendations made in the report based on those uncorroborated claims.
Lack of appetizing or nutritious food/more microwaves:
HCCC is a jail. Food choices are more limited than outside facility walls. However detainees receive a nutritionally balanced 3400 calories a day. HCCC employs a nutritionist to monitor nutrition content, calorie levels and efforts to meet religious dietary requests.
HCCC has provided microwaves to detainees in the past. It is currently re-wiring the ICE dormitories to handle the electrical load for commercial grade microwaves because many of the standard household microwaves provided were broken in the course of their use by the detainee population. This work should be completed soon.
Access to Outdoors:
Currently each housing unit has an outdoor space of approximately 10 feet by 30 feet that is accessible 10 hours a day by the detainees housed in that unit. By comparison, the general population at HCCC is allowed one hour a day of out-door access. This space is not a “balcony” but on the ground level of each dormitory. Gym equipment is not legally required. Detainees use the space provided to play games such as handball.
Provide better training for corrections officers:
All Hudson County Corrections Officers receive 40 hours of professional development training annually. This training includes interpersonal skills training. It is worth noting that the ICE housing units have installed within them 400 state of the art video cameras with full audio capability to monitor detainee/officer interaction 24/7. When charges of disrespect to a detainee are made either through First Friends (where it goes straight to the HCCC Director) or through the HCCC chain of command, such charges are fully investigated.
Expand Visitation Times:
HCCC provides weekend (Saturday) visitation hours, and provides contact visitation—a rarity among jails housing ICE Detainees in the State of New Jersey. The contact visitation does require more invasive search of visitors. This policy is in place to help ensure the safety of detainees, staff and the public. The amount and quality of visitation for ICE Detainees, is greater than the regular inmate population. The supervision of visitation times is officer-time intensive. However HCCC continues to dialog with community based organizations like First Friends on what can be done to expand or improve quality of visitation.
Provide More Clean Clothes/Underwear:
Detainees are provided two uniforms and three changes of socks and underwear. HCCC is currently installing washer/dryer units in each of the ICE dormitories to allow detainees to wash their clothes more frequently.
Increase presence of ICE Officers:
ICE officers are a daily presence in the facility. They interact with both HCCC staff and First Friends, the CBO concerned with rights of the incarcerated mentioned above.
Phone costs:
HCCC charges equal or less than what is being charged in the rest of the county jails in New Jersey.
Housing people who speak the same language:
See above. We do this. However risk tier outweighs common language regarding housing assignment.
Medical Care Complaints:
Two examples were cited in the report of unnamed individuals who claimed delays in receiving medication. In both cases, as noted in the report, medication was provided. Without more specifics, these allegations cannot be addressed other than to note that the Community Based Organization First Friends regularly contacts Director Aviles directly regarding detainee concerns. When concerns regarding any issue — but especially those related to medical care — are raised, they are immediately addressed by the Director, as was acknowledged in the report.
Two points worth noting regarding the facility and medical care: HCCC has had tens of thousands of detainees come through its doors since 1995. It currently has a population of more than 400 ICE Detainees. Within its regular population, the medical staff routinely deals with inmates living with HIV/AIDS and mental illness. There is no rational explanation why any medical staffer would deny appropriate medication to individuals as was described in the report.
Electronic kiosks that allow detainees to request sick calls, log complaints about alleged misconduct or any other issue are deployed throughout the ICE Detention housing units. They ensure that each request or complaint is logged electronically with a time and date attached and that there is a clear, permanent record regarding staff addressing the request or complaint.
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