MIAMI, FL - Today, Congressman Carlos A. Gimenez (FL-28) released the following statement following a fact-finding mission to the ICE facility located within the Federal Detention Center in the City of Miami:

"Today, I exercised my right as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives to conduct a Congressional oversight fact-finding mission at the ICE facility located within the Federal Detention Center in the City of Miami.

"This visit followed reports of alleged inhumane conditions. I personally walked through the facility and investigated each claim, one by one.

"Reports claimed that the facility was overcrowded, citing 350 to 400 ICE detainees in a space with a reported capacity of only 152. However, during my visit, I confirmed that the actual capacity is 500, with the current population at 311. The detainees are housed across four separate units, each capable of accommodating up to 125 individuals.

"Each unit includes an outdoor recreation area, phones for personal and legal calls—including direct lines to embassies—and access to computers for communication and email. Medical care is readily available, with a nurse practitioner stationed on every detainee floor, two full-time doctors, and onsite x-ray, optometry, dental, and hearing services. It is a full-service detention facility. 

"There was a past disturbance involving 42 detainees who disobeyed orders and caused damage within a processing area. Force was used to restore order, but no injuries required hospitalization. Procedures have since been updated, and no further incidents have occurred.

"There are no women or children in this ICE facility, only adult males.

"This is a detention center, not a hotel. And I did not see anything at FDC Miami that would make us feel ashamed of being Americans."

###