The Buffalo Service Processing Center (BSPC), located in Batavia, New York, is an immigration detention facility owned and operated on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since first opening in 1998, the BSPC has housed thousands of individuals awaiting immigration hearings or deportation. Operated under ICE's Performance-Based National Detention Standards, the facility aims to provide safe and humane conditions for detainees during their custody. This comprehensive article will provide an in-depth look at the 25-year history, daily operations, services, visitation policies, and more at the BSPC.
## History and Background
The BSPC first opened in 1998 as a facility designed and built specifically to house immigration detainees under the authority of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). While owned by ICE, daily operations are managed by the private contractor Akima Global Services (AGS). This private company operates the facility through a contract with ICE's local Buffalo Field Office.
ERO Buffalo provides oversight and management of the detention operations, staffing the facility with trained deportation officers, detention services managers, and support personnel. These staff members handle day-to-day custody and removal operations, like processing new detainees, transportation, and coordinating video teleconference immigration hearings.
Since starting operations in 1998, the BSPC has provided detention capacity for ERO Buffalo's four-state area of responsibility covering New York, Vermont, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The facility has the capacity to house approximately 200 adult male and female detainees at a time.
The BSPC operates under ICE's 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards, which outline extensive requirements that detention facilities must meet related to areas like detainee care, activities, grievance procedures, classification, and health services. Compliance with these standards is evaluated through regular self-assessments by staff and inspections by outside auditors.
In August 2017, after extensive review of its policies, procedures, and overall facility conditions, the American Correctional Association provided full accreditation of the BSPC. This accredited status certifies that the facility meets industry standards for the operation of correctional and detention facilities.
Additionally, in May 2019, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care accredited the facility for its provision of complete health services to meet physical, mental and dental needs of detainees. These two crucial accreditations reflect the BSPC's compliance with detention standards for overall operations and healthcare.
## Detainee Services and Programs
To support detainees during their time at the facility, the BSPC provides a variety of services and opportunities:
- **Medical Care:** Through ICE's Health Services Corps, detainees have access to a range of healthcare services to meet physical and mental health needs, including medical, dental and mental health care. Health services staff provide sick call visits, emergency care, medication distribution, lab tests, immunizations, physical exams, and referral to off-site hospitals as needed. Additionally, tele-health services are utilized for some specialist medical consultations.
- **Food Services:** The private contractor Akima Global Services provides detainee meals using full-service kitchen facilities on-site. All menus are reviewed by dieticians to ensure sufficient nutritional content. Special dietary accommodations are made for medical needs and religious reasons. Detainees also have opportunities to work in the kitchen to help prepare meals.
- **Commissary:** Through a contract with Trinity Services, detainees can purchase approved food, drink, clothing, hygiene items, electronics, postage, and other items from the commissary using personal funds in their facility account. Purchases are limited to $140 per week.
- **Recreation:** Detainees have access to exercise yards, gym equipment, table games, television rooms, and leisure reading materials to occupy their time. Outdoor and indoor recreation is offered daily for a minimum of 3 hours. Team sports like soccer, basketball, and volleyball are also organized.
- **Law Library:** Detainees can access legal reference materials, photocopying, postal services, and writing supplies to work on their immigration cases. Confidential meeting space with attorneys is facilitated as needed.
- **Religious Services:** Chaplains coordinate religious services, ceremonies, education programs, counseling services, and cultural observances based on faith preferences specified by detainees. Special diets and religious headwear accommodations are also provided.
## Communication and Visitation
Maintaining ties with family and managing legal proceedings are crucial for immigration detainees. The BSPC offers various services to facilitate communication and visitation:
- **Tablet Communications:** Through contractor services, detainees are issued electronic tablets. These provide capabilities like making phone calls, video visitation, exchanging electronic messages with approved recipients, accessing legal resources, and entertainment like games, music, educational content. Detainees are afforded 60 paid phone minutes per day.
- **Non-Confidential Messages:** Friends, family, and other outside parties can send one-way, non-legal messages to detainees by submitting written messages or voicemails through third-party services like gettingout.com. Each submitted message incurs a fee.
- **Mail:** Detainees have access to send and receive letters through the postal service that are inspected for contraband but not read. Indigent detainees can obtain postage allowance for legal and personal correspondence. Packages are restricted to certain allowable items pre-approved by ICE staff.
- **Legal Communication:** Detainees can utilize fax machines, confidential legal calls, videoconferencing, and in-person visits to exchange documents and communicate privately with legal representatives. Attorney visits are permitted 24/7 with advanced notice.
- **Visitation Hours:** During specified hours, family and friends can visit detainees in-person for up to one hour through non-contact visitation, with conversations taking place via phones across a divider window. All visitors must pass security screening and abide by visitation rules.
- **Consular Visits:** Consular officials may arrange visits with detainees of their same nationality to provide citizen services and notices from their homeland. Scheduling visits in advance enables translation services to be coordinated if needed.
- **Clergy Visits:** Local clergy members and religious volunteers can visit detainees after making prior arrangements with the Chaplain's Office. Confidential counseling sessions are allowed.
## Reporting Concerns and Grievances
ICE maintains a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment within its detention facilities. Detainees have clear channels available to report any incidents, concerns about their treatment, or fears of retaliation:
- **Written Complaints:** Detainees can file written grievances about staff misconduct or unresolved complaints to the Facility Administrator or Field Office Director. Complainants are protected from retaliation.
- **ICE Complaint Hotline:** Detainees and outside parties can call the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility complaint hotline 24/7 to report any suspected violations.
- **Third Party Reporting:** Friends and family of detainees can report sexual assault, discrimination, abuse, or civil rights violations to the ICE Enforcement and Removal hotline or DHS Office of Inspector General hotline.
- **Anonymous Reporting:** Reports about officer misconduct or facility concerns can be made without disclosing one's name using posted hotlines or written submissions.
- **Staff Reporting:** Detainees are encouraged to report incidents, concerns, requests, or issues directly to an officer, medical staff, facility leadership, or ICE Field Office.
All reports are investigated thoroughly by ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility, facility administrators, or third-party bodies like the DHS Inspector General. Findings may result in personnel actions for substantiated cases or facility improvements. Reporting supports agency accountability.
## Location and Accessibility
The Buffalo Service Processing Center facility is located at:
4250 Federal Drive
Batavia, NY 14020
The facility sits on federal property and has free public parking available on-site for visitors.
As a facility operated on behalf ICE and the federal government, the BSPC adheres to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act which protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Facility staff provide appropriate accommodations like sign language interpreters, written translations, and mobility assistance to ensure detainees with disabilities can fully access programs, services, and activities.
## Conclusion
For over two decades, the Buffalo Service Processing Center has carried out a crucial role in the U.S. immigration system by providing detention capacity for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations across four states. Through standards on medical care, recreation, communication, legal access, and visitation, the facility aims to provide safe and humane conditions for the adult men and women in its custody throughout their detention stays.
While broader debates persist on U.S. immigration enforcement policies, the BSPC represents ICE's efforts to improve its civil detention operations. Reviews by outside auditors have verified the facility's adherence to national standards related to detainee treatment. Moving forward, oversight by ICE leadership, outside agencies, and the public remains important to ensuring lawful, ethical, and transparent immigration detention practices.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the visitation hours at the BSPC?**
Visitation hours are daily from 9-11am, 1-3pm, and 6-8pm. All visitors must arrive 30 minutes before the end of each session to be processed.
**Can detainees receive phone calls or messages from family?**
No, detainees cannot receive incoming calls. Friends and family can leave non-confidential messages by calling the facility phone number.
**How can attorneys schedule confidential legal calls?**
Attorneys can email BFDF-VAV@outlook.com to request appointments for legal calls or video visits with proper credentials provided.
**What items are detainees allowed to have mailed to them?**
Only essential items like luggage needed for removal travel may be mailed to detainees after approval from ICE staff. No electronics are permitted.
**Where can I report sexual assault or detainee abuse at the facility?**
You can contact the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, DHS Inspector General, or facility staff through posted hotlines to report confidentially.
Phone: 585-344-6500
Physical Address:
Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center
4250 Federal Drive
Batavia, NY 14020
Mailing Address (personal mail):
Inmate's Full Name & A-Number
Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center
4250 Federal Drive
Batavia, NY 14020
Other Jails and Prisons
When someone that is not a US Citizen gets arrested in the United States, and they are here illegally, depending on what state or city they are arrested in, the person may be turned over to ICE.
Many states such as New York and California, as well as hundreds of US cities, have declared themselves 'sanctuary cities' and do not turn over foreigners here illegally, even if they are committing crimes in their jurisdiction.
However, when an alien here illegally is turned over to ICE, and sent to one of the over 100 Immigration Detention Centers in the United States, the only way to try and locate where they are being detained is using the Online Detainee Locator System.
You can look them up using their assigned A-Number.
You can also try and look them up by using their name.
What is an ICE Detention Center?
Men, women, and children that are in the United States illegally and are apprehended by the US Border Patrol or ICE will most likely be placed in removal proceedings and may be detained in one of the more than 200 jails and detention centers that make up ICE’s detention system.
Many of the illegal immigrants that are detained are held in county and local jails that contract with ICE to detain immigrants. The rest are held in dedicated immigration detention facilities run by ICE or contracted to private prison corporations, including family detention centers that hold mothers and children.
What Determines if an Illegal Immigrant gets Detained?
ICE will typically detain an immigrant because DHS (Homeland Security) believes that an illegal immigrant is either a “flight risk” and may move to another location within the U.S. or that they pose a public safety threat. Detaining the person allows the government to guarantee that the person will show up for their hearing before an Immigration Court.
Some of the reasons that causes an illegal immigrant to get arrested and held in detention prior to their day in court is as follows:
The illegal immigrant has:
How do you find someone that is in an ICE Detention Center?
The first step to finding out if an illegal immigrant is in ICE or DHS custody is by using the ICE Detainee Locator.
It’s easier to find the person if you have an Alien Number (A#), if one exists. A green card or work permit will show this number. If you don’t have an A# the person is much more difficult to locate.
The information you will need is as follows:
If you are having difficulty, try different spellings and the order of how the name is listed.
If the illegal immigrant was only recently detained, the ICE Detainee Locator may not be updated with the latest information. Keep in mind that ICE does not give information (online or over the phone) for people under 18 years of age. In such cases, you can only get information on them from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office nearest you.
If the person you are looking for is not in an ICE Detention Center, they may have been taken to a local jail that contracts with ICE, so contact their local City and County Jail, all which can be found here.
Another option, short of the expense of hiring an Immigration Lawyer, is to go to this website and use their online form to get their help.
Once an illegal immigrant is located and you find out the facility where they are being held you need to find out the Deportation Officer that has been assigned to their case. The Officer can tell you how to call or visit the detainee, or pay for the detainee to be able to call you, or how you can send any needed items such as clothing, prescriptions, etc.
The last option, and the most expensive, is to hire an experienced immigration attorney to assist you in tracking down the Deportation Officer. If the person being detained requires specific medical care, an attorney can ensure that they receive that care.
If the detained illegal immigrant has been deported from America previously or has an outstanding removal order - in which case they have no right to see an immigration judge - they can be removed within a few days, or even hours, of the initial arrest.
Even if the government does not immediately remove the person, it is possible that they can be moved around to different Detention Centers. There is never a warning that a person is being moved around and during the transfer there is a complete blackout of any information.
How long are people held in ICE Immigration Detention Centers?
The time that an illegal immigrant is held in an ICE Detention Center can vary. It all depends on several factors such as the individual’s personal situation, criminal record, the severity of the crime they are being charged with, previous deportations and the current caseload that the Detention Center is dealing with.
This image portrays the most recent data available on the time a detained illegal immigrant remains in custody before their release and/or deportation.
Can you visit someone in ICE Detention Centers?
The short answer is yes. The person visiting an illegal immigrant in an ICE Detention Center must be lawfully present in the United States. In other words the visitor must have some form of currently valid immigration status at the time of the visit. A detention center or jail will not allow the visit unless visitor can show valid I.D. and offer proof that they are lawfully in the United States.
If you want to become a volunteer that visits illegal immigrants in order to offer emotional support, it may be possible. You can join one of these visitation networks by going here and contacting the network in your area.
What crimes can cause an illegal immigrant to be deported?
(The following information comes from Nolo.com, a trusted legal resource)
These are the straightforward crimes that are mentioned in the immigration law. The statute also lists a number of security violations, such as involvement in espionage, sabotage, terrorism, Nazi persecution, totalitarian parties, and so forth.
Once an illegal immigrant is deported, how long before they can come back to the United States?
If an illegal immigrant has a deportation or removal order in their immigration file, it's possible that they won’t be allowed to enter the U.S. for five, ten, or even 20 years.
The applicable law comes from Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.).
Five-Year Ban: If they were summarily removed or deported upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry because they were found inadmissible, or if they came to the U.S. but were immediately put into removal proceedings and then removed or deported, they may be ineligible to return to the U.S. for five years. The five-year ban also applies if they failed to show up for their removal hearing in the United States.
Ten-Year Ban: If a ‘removal order’ was issued at the conclusion of their removal hearing in Immigration Court, they may not be able to return for ten years after their removal or departure.
Twenty-Year Ban: If they were convicted of an aggravated felony or have received more than one order of removal, they are barred from returning to the U.S. for 20 years. And if they entered without permission after having been removed, or illegally reentered the U.S. after having previously been in the U.S. unlawfully for more than one year, they may be barred from entering the United States for 20 years or permanently.
This facility, known as "Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center" is also known as ICE Detention Facility, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Buffalo Federal Detention Facility.
