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yesterday

ICE Begins Housing Over 100 Detainees at MDC Brooklyn Under New Bureau of Prisons Agreement

Advocates warn the notorious jail’s history of violence, inhumane conditions, staffing shortages, overcrowding pose a threat to the welfare of newly housed immigrants.

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The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)
People walk past the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in 2021.

Overview

  • The Federal Bureau of Prisons formalized an interagency agreement allowing ICE to house detainees in eight federal facilities, including MDC Brooklyn.
  • Sources report that between 100 and 120 ICE detainees have been confined to MDC Brooklyn’s East Building, separate from pretrial inmates charged with violent offenses.
  • MDC Brooklyn has a documented history of violence, corruption, maggot-infested food, frequent power outages and medical neglect.
  • The Legal Aid Society and Federal Defenders argue the transfer will exacerbate overcrowding, limit access to counsel and strain limited staff resources.
  • Bureau of Prisons officials assert staffing at MDC Brooklyn is sufficient to manage the added detainees but have not outlined measures to improve facility conditions.