NPR obtained secret government inspection reports, which described "negligent," "barbaric" and "filthy" conditions inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.

For more than three years, under both the Trump and Biden administrations, the federal government fought NPR's efforts to obtain those records. That's despite a Biden campaign promise to "demand transparency in and independent oversight over ICE."

This story contains graphic descriptions of mistreatment and death.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Kelsey Snell, and investigations correspondent Tom Dreisbach.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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