UK contractor has faced allegations of abuse and sexual assault in Britain and Australia but documents obtained by Guardian show it boasting to US lawmakers of its record

Serco, the controversial security company implicated in numerous immigration detention controversies in the UK and Australia, is lobbying to secure potentially lucrative contracts to detain migrant families in the United States, documents obtained by the Guardian show.

Serco Inc, the US subsidiary of the British owned multinational Serco Group, has held meetings in Washington DC with Democratic congressional staffers, at which it has circulated a confidential briefing paper boasting of its record in detaining migrant families.

The document describes the company’s pride in “transparency and accountability” and its history delivering detention services “designed by women for women” in the UK and Australia for over a decade.

But Serco-run detention centres in both countries have been implicated in sexual assault allegations made by detainees against staff, and facilities for children in Serco-run centres in Australia were heavily criticised in a recent landmark report by the country’s human rights commission.

A spokesman for Serco confirmed that the company was “exploring the possibility of providing family residential centers in the US” and had recently held meetings with congressional staff.

Serco is understood to be encouraging lawmakers and officials at US immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) to back its much-criticised model of residential detention. The company has argued that its proposal could potentially help navigate an impending federal court decision that may declare illegal the current detention of around 1,000 mothers and children.



A US court in California is currently considering an application brought on behalf of these detainees, which argues they cannot be held in secure facilities that are unlicensed for childcare and must, in all but exceptional circumstances, be released on bail, following guidance laid down by a previous ruling in 1997.

In the pitch document, Serco refers to the impending judgment, saying that the company “acknowledges the complexities for Ice in balancing legislative requirements with cost effectiveness and public accountability”. The paper urges the department to change its use of language and public messaging in order to “improv[e] the public’s perception of family detention”. It also advocates for an “open campus” model of detention which would “provide the least restrictive environment possible for minors”.

Migrants’ rights advocates who have seen the Serco briefing paper dismissed the model as simply “dressing up” the system that is already in place.

Congressional sources told the Guardian that representatives from Serco have met with staffers of at least two House Democrats, 136 of whom have recently signed a letter (pdf) addressed to the homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson, calling for an end to all family detention.

Ice is responsible for three family detention centres, two privately run sites in Texas and one publicly operated facility in Pennsylvania. Family detention is one of the most controversial aspects of the Obama administration’s response to last year’s “surge” in migrants from Central America.



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In recent weeks detainees have launched two hunger strikes at the privately run facility in Karnes, Texas, and a Guardian investigation into the Berks County, Philadelphia, centre revealed allegations of poor medical treatment and the overuse of solitary confinement against mothers and children.

It is not clear if Serco is advocating a takeover of any of these facilities or arguing a new centre should be created.

But advocates say that Serco’s track record abroad makes them unsuitable for work in the US.

“Serco seems to think members of Congress have never heard of Google, and that crossing an ocean means they won’t be held accountable for sexual misconduct by their staff and inadequate medical care in facilities in the UK and Australia,” said Mary Small, policy director at the Detention Watch Network.

The company is embroiled in a long-running scandal in the United Kingdom over its running of the Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre, which houses both women and young children, and has seen allegations of routine misconduct and sexual abuse at the hands of detention centre guards during its eight-year management of the facility. Last year, Serco admitted to firing 10 staff members in relation to sexual misconduct allegations at the facility.

The briefing document quotes selectively from a 2013 Yarls Wood inspection report to contrast its track record with Ice facilities.

Under the heading “Serco’s reality” the document compares an “usually good relationship between staff and detainees” at Yarl’s Wood with negative press coverage of Ice family detention facilities.



But this same 2013 report – conducted by the UK government’s chief inspector of prisons – found that two staff had engaged in sexual activity with a female detainee. The report did not uncover any evidence of a “wider culture of victimisation”, but noted that there were insufficient female staff members for a “predominantly women’s establishment” and observed complaints that male staff would search women’s property and enter their rooms without being invited in.

Serco has also come under criticism for its operations in Australia, where it manages all of the country’s immigration detention facilities under a multibillion-dollar contract. These sites include the notorious centres on Christmas Island, where – until recently – hundreds of children and families were detained. The Guardian has documented numerous instances of self-harm, suicide attempts and substandard medical care, at the centre and where widespread rioting broke out in 2011. A recent inquiry by Australia’s human rights commission found the detention of children on Christmas Island was in violation of international law.

The Serco briefing document includes the direct telephone line and email of a senior Australian immigration and border protection civil servant, Mark Painting, who it describes as a “contact” for the reader.



The Serco spokesman said: “Serco has a strong and successful 15-year reputation for delivering detention services in countries such as the UK and Australia. We are proud of our service delivery excellence and the transparency we demonstrate to our customers and to the public as we managed these complex services. Over the past year, both the UK and the Australian governments awarded Serco renewals of their immigration detention contracts after full and open competitions.”

Bob Libal, executive director of Grassroots Leadership, an immigrant advocacy group working with detained families, described Serco’s attempted entry to the industry as “very concerning”, arguing their proposal was little different from the system already in place.



“There is simply no way to ‘dress up’ family detention. It’s not whether or not the walls are painted or if there are benches in the cafeteria that take a toll. Locking up families always takes a toll, and the government should end family detention, not simply switch contractors,” Libal told the Guardian.



“Furthermore, Serco’s history in Australia and the UK certainly doesn’t inspire confidence that they will do anything different,” he added.