Lawmakers question contract to continue holding immigrants at Plymouth jail

Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are raising new concerns about conditions at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility and are asking federal immigration officials to reconsider an agreement allowing the jail to hold people there on immigration charges.

In a letter to the offices of U.S. Homeland Security and and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the lawmakers said "inhumane" and "substandard" conditions have persisted at the Plymouth facility, such as deficient medical care, the punitive use of solitary confinement, and restrictions on communication with legal counsel and family members. The senators are asking federal officials to justify continuing the contract between ICE and Plymouth that recently was extended until the end of September.

"We ask ICE to consider whether continuation of the contract is appropriate, and if the contract is renewed, to implement stronger guardrails to ensure that, at a minimum, the facility’s conditions comply with established detention standards and civil rights," the senators' letter said.

The letter also mentions a prior letter, in 2022, that the senators wrote to immigration officials, expressing similar concerns about conditions at Plymouth. Despite that earlier letter, the facility's "substandard conditions have persisted," they said.

Plymouth is the only county in Massachusetts that still has an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants. A Plymouth spokesperson said the sheriff had not seen the letter and the office could not immediately comment.

Immigrant advocacy groups have filed a complaint with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell asking for an investigation of the facility. The complaint alleges inappropriate communication with attorneys and family, high videoconferencing costs for attorney meetings,  a lack of language services for non-English speakers and frequent use of solitary confinement.

The AG's office said it has received the communication and declined to comment further.