US plans to close immigration detention center in Alabama

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plansclose at least one detention center in Alabama and significantly reduce the number of beds allocated in three other facilities, due to concerns about the operation and condition of the complexes, according to a Government document seen by Reuters.

According to the document,ICE will discontinue the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama, as it "has long been a site of significant concern due to the number, severity, diversity and persistence of deficiencies identified during facility inspections."

While the facility does not currently house many detainees, the average length of stay remains high, the draft memo says, adding that the age of the facility and lack of outdoor space are of particular concern.

The memo also states that the agency would halt use of the Glades County Detention Center in Florida, where there have been "persistent concerns related to the provision of health care at the facility."

Groups that support immigrants have reported problems such as fadequate medical care discharge and other difficulties at various ICE facilities and they have asked the Government of Democratic President Joe Biden to order the closure of the complexes.

ICE currently detains 22,000 immigrants in facilities in various cities in the United States.

With the Biden Government,arrests and deportations of immigrants living illegally in the United States have plummeted compared to the administration of his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

ICE has ceased arrest procedures for immigrants without criminal records to prioritize arrests of those who commit serious crimes.

The document indicated that ICE would also reduce the "guaranteed minimum" number of allocated beds at the Alamance County Detention Center in North Carolina and the Winn Correctional Facility in Louisiana, citing in part low detainee numbers.

Reporting by Ted Hesson and Mica Rosenberg; Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke. Edited in Spanish by Marion Giraldo.