Wasserman Schultz Conducts Surprise Miramar ICE Facility Inspection Following Whistleblower Report

Miramar, FL – Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) made an unannounced visit to conduct oversight at the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Center in Miramar, FL. This was Wasserman Schultz’s second visit to the facility, after a previous inspection uncovered overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, and illegal detention of individuals for days or weeks on end, prompting Democrats on the House Oversight Committee to open an investigation into the facility’s dangerous and unlawful practices. Click here for video of the press conference and Wasserman Schultz entering the facility. The surprise inspection follows whistleblower disclosures detailing horrific conditions in the Miramar facility, including a pregnant woman being detained for three weeks, detainees brushing their teeth outside with water from a hose attached to a jug, lack of proper access to medication or hygiene products, and other abuses. Detainees have been cuffed and chained overnight, forced to use overflowing porta-potties, and denied access to medical care despite more than two dozen emergency calls, including a detainee throwing up blood. “The conditions we documented during my last surprise inspection got ICE’s attention, so they did their best over the last week to clean things up. Oversight and public pressure work, and we need more of it in our state and across the country,” said Wasserman Schultz . “It’s clear that the push from the Trump administration to round up as many people as possible has caused this facility, and others, to become overwhelmed. They simply don’t have the capacity to hold this many people humanely, and most of them are law-abiding immigrants who just came here for a better life.” Wasserman Schultz described the improvements she saw in the facility’s operations as proof that oversight of ICE detention centers remains crucial. People were being processed quicker compared to her first inspection, leading to less overcrowding in the Miramar facility, approximately 20 people per holding room. But there is still no consistent policy regarding showers or changes of clothes for individuals detained at the facility. Additionally, Wasserman Schultz saw broken sinks, floors covered in filth, and overflowing dumpsters. There is no medical unit, and Wasserman Schultz saw a woman with a leg injury. Wasserman Schultz also reported that two detainees told her in Spanish that they had been there for six days – much longer than the 12 hours permitted after a federal court order barred ICE from holding immigrants for three days or longer in temporary processing facilities. ####