A Biden administration policy to end federal contracts with private prisons is having the opposite of its intended effect, according to a new report from the office of Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
But according to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the order prompted complaints after one case in which the U.S. Marshals Service’s (USMS) compliance with the order resulted in “no substantive change” to the housing of detainees at a private facility while also increasing the costs of their detention “by as much as $500,000 per month,” or $6 million per year.
Questions Over White House Approval
According to the report, the OIG was informed by USMS and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) that the White House Counsel’s Office approved the use of an IGA to replace the expiring contract. Yet, no evidence of that approval could be produced.“While we have no reason to doubt such approval, we found no documentation of the approval in the materials provided to us, and we were told that no such documentation existed,” the report states.
Additionally, the OIG could not find evidence that the White House had been informed of the resulting increase in costs or reduction of USMS control of the facility, despite ODAG’s assertion that those findings had been relayed.
Recommendations
Since March 2022, no other IGAs have been entered into by USMS. However, four other contracts with private detention facilities have expired since the executive order was issued, and an additional four are still ongoing, not set to expire before September 2023.Laying out its recommendations for handling future contract expirations, the OIG asserted: “The Department should continue to assess available options for complying with the Executive Order and ensure that the details of each option are fully considered so as to avoid wasteful spending and maintain adequate USMS control over conditions of confinement.
“Additionally, consistent with government records laws and requirements, ODAG and the USMS should maintain documentation of any decisions made regarding the appropriate method for housing detainees, which should describe the rationale for those decisions.”