A Democrat revealed on Thursday that he witnessed horrific conditions for immigrants detained at a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) posted on X that he paid a surprise visit to the ICE field facility in Baltimore, and what he saw was "disgraceful."
"[DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem has a budget of $75 billion she could use to ensure humane conditions, but we saw 60 men packed into a room shoulder-to-shoulder, 24-hours-a-day, with a single toilet in the room and no shower facilities," Raskin said. "They sleep like sardines with aluminum foil blankets."
Conditions inside ICE detention facilities have been hotly debated since President Donald Trump's deportation crackdown began early last year. The Department of Homeland Security also revised its visitation policy for Congressional lawmakers to require at least seven days' notice before a visit could occur, a move that a federal judge ruled in early February was illegal.
Raskin said the conditions would force lawmakers to demand "immediate answers and actions."
"Whether it’s for three days or seven days, nobody would want a member of their family warehoused there," Raskin wrote. "The room set aside for dangerous criminals and violent offenders was empty. We’re demanding immediate answers and action."
I just exercised my right as a Member of Congress to conduct an unannounced oversight visit of the ICE field facility in Baltimore. The staff I met with respected my right to visit, but what I saw was disgraceful. Kristi Noem has a budget of $75 billion she could use to ensure…
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) February 13, 2026