GOP congressman claims ICE detention centers are ‘pretty friggin’ nice’ as concerns rise about conditions
Several Republican lawmakers have pushed back at reports about conditions at immigration detention centers across the country – including issues with overcrowding and maggot-infested food.
Over the last few weeks, Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities are crammed with detainees, resulting in limited space to sleep, no privacy to use toilets, and scarce amounts of food.
“I’m not personally inspecting every facility, but I’ve been in a hell of a lot of them over the years. The facilities I’ve been in are pretty friggin’ nice,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told NOTUS.
Detention facilities across the country are being forced to accommodate an increasing number of people being arrested and detained as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
In Florida, state leaders have erected Alligator Alcatraz, a temporary holding facility to relieve some of the pressure on other jails.
But immigrants detained inside have claimed they are being fed little amounts of maggot-infested food, are unable to sleep due to blinding lights shone 24/7, have little access to bathing water, and have had their religious rights infringed on.
Officials have pushed back on Democrats’ claims, too.
Stephanie Hartman, a spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management – which manages Alligator Alcatraz, told NBC News, “The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order.”
Hartman said detainees get three meals per day, unlimited drinking water, showers, and other necessities.
Republican Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida told NOTUS he had “no concerns” about the conditions at the facility.
“It’s not full of alligators. It’s not full of snakes,” Giménez said, referring to reports that the facility, built in the Florida Everglades, is surrounded by alligators and venomous snakes.
Democrats who visited the facility said detainees were “packed” into cages and that conditions were abusive.
Giménez told NOTUS it was difficult to prove or disprove claims about food, but that from what he saw, it was “adequate.”
“They’re not a hotel. This is not the Ritz. It is a detention center, but there’s nothing inhumane about what I saw,” Giménez claimed.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told Meet the Press earlier this month that federal detention centers’ standards “are extremely high.”
But ICE detention facilities are not codified in law the way federal jails are; rather, they are set up based on individual contracts. This can make it more difficult to track and enforce rules.
Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona told NOTUS that he did not see “anything alarming or controversial” at the detention facility he visited in Eloy, Arizona.
