Detention center phones frustrate aliens
By Jerry Seper
The Washington Times
More than 280,000 illegal aliens held at 400 detention centers nationwide face a complex, often unreliable telephone system that frequently prevents them from being able to make free calls to complain about their confinement, a Government Accountability Office report says.
GAO investigators said they found “systemic problems” with the pro bono phone system at 16 of 17 detention facilities they reviewed, including failed connections due to technical problems and insufficient internal controls to ensure that posted phone numbers were kept up-to-date or otherwise accurate.
At one facility, the report said, the list of consulate numbers was six years old and nearly one-third of the numbers were incorrect.But Jamie Zuieback, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which oversees the detention centers, yesterday said efforts are under way to improve the system to make it “more user friendly.”
“ICE detainees tripled between 2001 and 2006, but we are committed to providing a safe, secure and humane environment for those in our custody,” said Ms. Zuieback. “We are very pleased with the overall positive findings in the report and have taken numerous steps to improve the phone system.”
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070710/NATION/107100062/1002/NATION