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Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation made an unannounced visit Monday to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Baltimore and said they were taken aback by the conditions.
“I am disgusted by what I just saw,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents Maryland’s 4th Congressional District.
Ivey and several lawmakers spoke outside the George H. Fallon Federal Building, after visiting the facility Monday morning.
Ivey, a former prosecutor who noted he’s been in numerous jails and holding cells due to his work as an attorney over the years, said he can’t believe ICE has been holding people in the conditions he saw.
“We adopted two dogs a little while ago and we went to the shelter to go get them,” he said. “And the shelter space is better than the human space they’ve got upstairs.”
ICE has used space in the building to temporarily hold people taken into custody as they begin what can be an unpredictable legal journey related to immigration enforcement.
The lawmakers said many people have had to sleep on concrete floors in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions.
Those visiting the facility included U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks; Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who represents the 7th District; and Rep. Johnny Olszewski, who represents the 2nd District.
Local leaders from Baltimore also spoke at a news conference after the lawmakers’ visit.
Judge has ordered changes at the holding facility
The lawmakers visited the facility just days after a federal judge issued a ruling Friday ordering ICE to make several changes.
U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin ordered that the five holding rooms at the facility must hold no more than 55 people at a time.
Van Hollen said the facility was previously allowed to hold more than 220 people.
Lawmakers said the rooms have concrete benches and a single toilet.
Van Hollen also said he was glad the judge ordered ICE to make sure that detainees get a medical screening within 12 hours of being brought to the facility.
He said that is important, given what has happened nationwide.
“We’ve seen almost 40 people die in ICE custody last year,” he said. “And nine already in these first months of this year.”
In court filings, the Justice Department argued ICE had been meeting federal legal standards for the facility.
But the judge rejected the DOJ arguments.
Several lawmakers have made repeated visits to the facility, amid ongoing complaints about conditions there.
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