Press Releases

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today requested detailed updates from CoreCivic on medical staffing levels, access-to-care protocols, and measures to ensure timely medication access at the Farmville Detention Center. The request follows an August 8, 2025 oversight visit that highlighted a significant need for increased medical staffing amid prolonged delays in access to care and medication, emphasizing ongoing concerns over the facility’s troubling pattern of substandard medical and safety standards. CoreCivic, which assumed operations of the Farmville facility from Abyon LLC in June 2025, had indicated plans to invest in upgrades, including a transition to electronic health records.

In a letter addressed to President and Chief Operating Officer at CoreCivic, Beyer wrote:

“Dear Mr. Swindle:

I am writing to follow up on my oversight visit to Farmville Detention Center on August 8, 2025 to ensure that the facility has increased medical personnel on staff and has updated protocols to allow for immediate access to medical staff.

When I visited in August, CoreCivic had recently taken over the Farmville Detention Center contract from Abyon LLC and had expressed plans in both news reporting and to me about investing in upgrades to the facility. At the time of the visit, it was clear that the medical staff were overwhelmed, could not relay to us the amount of medical staff that were employed by the facility, and that requests for medical attention were not met in a timely fashion, with some detainees waiting days for simple requests like medication for a headache (at which point such request would likely be moot). I understood that the facility was changing electronic health records and pharmacies as a result of the contract change, but the circumstances we witnessed could not simply be explained away by those stresses, and it was evident that the facility needed increased personnel and updated standards to meet the humanitarian standards required by law.

Farmville Detention Center has a history of failing to meet medical standards. In January 2021, a DHS audit of the Detention Center found various standards at the facility were not met, including access to emergency medical and mental health services. That was found again to be a standard that was unmet in a September 2023 audit. Due to the systemic nature of the issue when Farmville was under the management of Immigration Centers of America, I wrote to ICE after Abyon LLC took over the contract in March of 2024 to inquire about what improvements were being made in the new contract. Specifically, I inquired about what improvements were being made to health and safety standards so that issues like medical neglect would not continue and access to emergency medical and mental health services would improve.

I was therefore concerned to hear that these issues were still apparent upon my visit in August. My team and I had to personally intervene in a medication access case, which despite repeated phone and email communications, was only resolved after my in-person visit and confirmation with the detainee that it had not been resolved, despite communication to me otherwise.

Now that sufficient time has passed for any natural hiccups in a contract switch over to be addressed, I am writing to request an update on the staffing at the facility and protocols on access to medical care. Specifically, I request the following information:

1. How many medical staff were employed by Abyon LLC as of May 2025? How many medical staff are currently employed by CoreCivic as of November 2025? Please indicate the number and their professional title.
2. Are there plans to hire more medical personnel? Please elaborate in detail and include hiring timelines.
3. What protocols are in place to ensure that detainees can meet with a medical provider or receive access to their medication in a time-sensitive manner? Please describe the current protocol, and if there have been any changes since my oversight visit. If yes, indicate what they were.
4. Please indicate if there have been any updates to mental health access protocols specifically. Please describe the current protocol, and if there have been any changes since my oversight visit. If yes, indicate what they were.

As you know, Congress passed legislation in July that provided $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement, including funding specifically allocated for detention and deportation operations. Therefore, CoreCivic should have sufficient access to resources to make upgrades and hire the staff needed to ensure the facility can meet the requisite medical and safety standards.

Please provide a response to my questions in this letter no later than December 16, 2025. I look forward to hearing from you.”

A signed copy of the letter is available here.