Who runs El Centro Detention Facility (and what services they provide)

The GEO Group operates El Centro Detention Facility on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service. GEO runs the day-to-day operations while the facility holds individuals for USMS.

GEO provides housing at El Centro Detention Facility. This covers where people are held and the day-to-day custody environment during their time inside.

GEO also handles security services. This means staffing, supervision, and the security functions that control movement and maintain order inside the facility.

Medical services are another core responsibility GEO covers at El Centro Detention Facility. If you're concerned about health care while your loved one is inside, this falls under the operator's stated responsibilities.

GEO provides transportation services connected to El Centro Detention Facility. This affects how and when someone is moved for detention-related needs under the U.S. Marshals Service.

GEO handles food services at the facility - meals and related food operations are part of what the operator manages on site.

Beyond those main categories, GEO also provides what it calls "other support services" at El Centro Detention Facility. The exact mix varies, but GEO describes its role as broader than just housing, security, transportation, medical, and food.

At the company level, GEO states that individuals in its care have inherent human rights and must be treated with dignity at all times. For families, this matters - it's a clear statement of how the operator says people should be treated in GEO-run facilities, including expectations around basic respect and protection.

Those dignity and human-rights statements aren't just general language. GEO frames them as part of its broader human-rights commitments. When you're trying to understand who's accountable, this is one place responsibility sits: with the operator and the corporate standards it says apply to people in its care.

GEO describes reporting options tied to policy compliance, including a confidential, anonymous toll-free hotline managed by an independent third party. Employees and third parties can use it to report potential violations. Separately, people in GEO's care have grievance channels available to raise concerns through secure methods - another route for issues to be documented from inside the facility.

Next Steps Families

• ✓ Ask the person in custody what grievance options are available to them where they’re housed and what the facility’s preferred method is for submitting concerns.
• ✓ Encourage them to use secure grievance channels GEO describes, such as drop boxes, if they need to report a concern in writing.
• ✓ If the issue is appropriate to raise verbally, suggest they request an informal discussion with facility leadership, since GEO says informal grievance discussions are an option too.
• ✓ If you are a third party who needs to report a potential policy violation, look for GEO’s confidential, anonymous hotline option (it’s described as independently managed).