In 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General published a damning investigation into conditions at La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, then housing ICE immigration detainees under a CoreCivic contract. The report documented a pattern of staff misconduct, medical neglect, and COVID-19 failures that drew national attention and prompted federal scrutiny of how private prisons handle federally detained populations.
What Investigators Found
OIG investigators visited La Palma and reviewed records covering the period when the facility held ICE detainees after California ended its out-of-state inmate contracts. Their findings were extensive and troubling. Staff members failed to enforce basic COVID-19 protocols — investigators found that guards were not consistently wearing masks and did not enforce social distancing among the detained population. The OIG concluded that these failures may have contributed to a widespread COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.
Medical care was also a central concern. The report found that La Palma's medical unit was understaffed and slow to respond to requests for care. On average, it took 3.35 days for the medical unit to respond to sick-call requests — far longer than acceptable standards for a detained population with limited ability to seek outside care. In some cases, investigators found that prescription medications were not refilled in a timely manner, leaving detainees without treatments they had been prescribed.
Pepper Spray, Racial Slurs, and Solitary Confinement
Perhaps the most serious findings concerned the facility's response to a detainee protest. When a group of detainees engaged in what investigators described as a peaceful protest, staff responded with pepper spray — including from ceiling-mounted spray units as well as handheld devices. Detainees were subsequently placed in solitary confinement for extended periods as punishment for their participation in the protest.
Separately, investigators documented an incident in which a guard used a racial slur while threatening a detainee with pepper spray and then abruptly terminated a phone call the detainee was in the middle of. The use of racial slurs and the termination of communications access violated both BOP standards and ICE detention standards that CoreCivic was contractually obligated to uphold.
ICE's Tepid Response
The OIG issued eight recommendations following the investigation. ICE, as the contracting agency, agreed with only three of the eight. This partial acceptance drew criticism from immigration advocates and federal oversight bodies who argued that accepting just three of eight recommendations from a federal inspector general report signaled insufficient commitment to reform. ICE's limited concurrence meant that several of the structural changes the OIG recommended — including improvements to medical staffing and stronger oversight of contractor discipline practices — were not formally committed to.
CoreCivic's Role and Accountability Structure
La Palma is operated by CoreCivic, Inc., one of the largest private prison companies in the United States. Under the private prison model, CoreCivic holds a government contract — in this case, first with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, then with ICE, and later with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) — and is responsible for day-to-day operations including staffing, security, and medical care. The government agency retains oversight responsibility but rarely stations its own personnel on-site to monitor conditions.
This arms-length accountability structure is one reason that investigators can find widespread problems at a facility without any single government official being directly responsible. CoreCivic employs the staff, selects the warden, and sets internal policies — but operates under contract terms that the contracting agency negotiates and enforces. When the OIG investigation found that staff violated policy, CoreCivic was responsible for addressing the personnel issues, but the government agencies were responsible for deciding whether the violations warranted contract consequences.
The Transition From ICE to ADCRR
La Palma's conversion from an ICE detention facility to an ADCRR facility in December 2021 came in the aftermath of the OIG investigation. Arizona signed a contract to house up to 2,706 adult male inmates at La Palma, primarily at medium and high security custody levels. The transition raised questions among advocacy groups about whether the structural problems identified by the OIG would carry over into the new contract, particularly regarding medical staffing and staff discipline.
In May 2025, Kristopher Kline was named the new warden at La Palma, signaling at least a change in the facility's leadership. Whether the systemic issues documented in the 2021 report have been addressed is not publicly known — ADCRR does not publish detailed compliance reports for CoreCivic-operated facilities the way the federal government does for BOP facilities.
What This Means for Families
If your loved one is currently housed at La Palma Correctional Center, understanding the facility's history gives you important context for advocating on their behalf. The OIG investigation established documented precedent for problems with medical responsiveness and staff conduct. If your loved one is experiencing delays in medical care or reports concerning staff behavior, you have the right to:
- File a formal grievance through the facility's internal grievance system
- Contact ADCRR's Office of the Inspector General directly
- Contact CoreCivic's compliance and oversight office
- Seek assistance from immigration or criminal defense advocacy organizations operating in Arizona
- Document all communications with the facility in writing
Oversight Resources
The DHS Office of Inspector General publishes its reports publicly at oig.dhs.gov. ADCRR's contract monitoring unit oversees CoreCivic facilities in Arizona. For families who believe a loved one's rights are being violated, the ACLU of Arizona and the Florence Project (which focuses specifically on immigration detention in Eloy) provide legal resources and advocacy support.
La Palma's history is a case study in the structural tensions of private prison contracting — and a reminder that federal investigations, even when their recommendations are not fully adopted, create a documented record that families and advocates can use when pushing for accountability.