Fifteen of the nation's largest immigration detention facilities had not been inspected in more than a year as of late June, and five had no inspection on record, according to an analysis that found the Trump administration has reduced the frequency of reviews even as the number of detainees has climbed.
The review, conducted by CBS News, found the lapse follows a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy change that shifted many facilities from twice-yearly inspections to annual or biennial reviews.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the policy, saying inspection schedules are based on "facility type, detention capacity, and operational function" and that ICE maintains "a robust, multilayered compliance program designed to promote compliance with ICE's contractually obligated detention standards."
The findings come as the administration has expanded immigration detention as part of its deportation effort.
CBS reported that deaths in ICE custody last year reached their highest rate since 2020, while recent concerns over medical care, food quality, and facility conditions have drawn increased scrutiny.
Dr. Annette Dekker, an assistant professor at UCLA's medical school who studies health outcomes among immigration detainees, said less frequent inspections could make it harder to ensure problems are corrected.
"A lot of facilities have deficiencies, and it takes frequent reassessments to ensure that those deficiencies are being addressed," said Dekker.
"It's concerning if now they're doing this less frequently because that's a pretty big time gap between evaluations to just ensure that healthcare and other conditions are being met," she added.
CBS found that since 2019, ICE inspections identified at least one deficiency in nearly 90% of inspections, citing issues ranging from inadequate suicide checks and improperly stored food to incomplete incident reports.
The inspection policy changed in 2025 after Congress previously directed ICE to conduct inspections twice a year following a 2018 Department of Homeland Security inspector general report that found oversight was not frequent enough to ensure facilities corrected deficiencies.
Under the revised policy, dedicated ICE detention centers are inspected once each fiscal year, while non-dedicated facilities, including many county jails, generally receive inspections every other year. DHS said the approach allows the agency to "allocate oversight resources based on facility type and operational complexity."
Border czar Tom Homan told sheriffs in 2025 that the administration hoped to reduce federal inspections to encourage more local jails to house ICE detainees, according to Reuters.
CBS reported the number of facilities holding ICE detainees increased to 203 by April from 104 the previous year.
The report also found some large facilities continued receiving passing inspection ratings despite multiple deficiencies.
At the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, inspectors assigned an "acceptable/adequate" rating during a March 2025 inspection while documenting 12 deficiencies, including two involving suicide prevention. CBS reported two detainees later died by suicide there.
A DHS spokesperson disputed suggestions that deficiencies go unaddressed, telling CBS that "ICE works directly with the responsible field office and facility operator to correct identified deficiencies and bring the facility into compliance with ICE detention standards."