Members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation made an unannounced visit to the ICE detention facility in Baltimore’s George H. Fallon Federal Building Monday, after a judge ruled last week that the facility was overcrowded.
After an approximately one-hour visit, which included Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (D), as well as Reps. Kweisi Mfume, Glenn Ivey and Johnny Olszewski, the lawmakers described the facility “unfit for animals.”
The lawmakers said ICE fit more than 225 people into the facility, when its capacity was only 55.
“It's just unimaginable how that could happen in these rooms,” Alsobrooks said. “These conditions are inhumane. They are cruel, and they are consistent with the desires of this administration, who have no interest whatsoever in making the lives of Americans better, because if they did, they wouldn't have forward funded $75 billion to fund an operation that is inhumane.”
ICE has said in the past that the facility is a processing center, not a detention facility, and that the rooms are for short term stays less than 12 hours. However, because there has not been enough space to hold detainees long-term, the facility got an exemption to hold people for up to three days. There have been reports that people have stayed even longer.
U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin ruled last week that ICE can no longer keep more than 56 people in the facility at once.
During the proceedings, UCLA professor Graeme Blair testified that only 4% of immigrants booked at the Baltimore facility stayed less than 12 hours.
Joe Goldenson, a physician who testified on the medical protocols of the facility, said it lacked an onsite doctor and said its medication policy was inadequate. He said the policy created risk for contagious diseases.
The decision came after leaked video of the facility showed people sleeping on concrete floors and after reports of Legionella, a dangerous bacteria, were reported in the building.
All of this is happening as the Department of Homeland Security recently bought a 825,000 warehouse in Williamsport to serve as a long-term facility that could hold as many as 1,500 people.
The facility sits at the crossroads of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and is part of a larger DHS plan to open ICE detention centers across the nation that could hold about 85,000 immigrants.
DHS awarded a $113 million contract to KVG LLC, a Gettysburg, Pa. based company, to renovate the structure.
The company has previously worked with the Department of Defense.
The contract was awarded through the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC TITUS) contracting vehicle, created by Naval Supply Systems Command to quickly work with contractors for needs during things like natural disasters and pandemics without going through the traditional, longer bidding process.
“There is an option to continue [the Williamsport facility in Maryland] for another three years, for over $640 million of your taxpayer money,” said Van Hollen.
According to DHS records obtained by CBS, less than 14% of people arrested by ICE have violent records. DHS repeatedly claimed that ICE crackdowns are primarily to target “dangerous and violent individuals.”
About 40% have no criminal record. Another 30% are nonviolent crimes. About 6% were related to “dangerous drugs.” Another 8% were driving under the influence infractions.
Of the 14% who were charged with violent crimes, 11% had to do with assault and 1.4% with sexual assault. People charged with homicides and kidnapping made up less than 1%. Less than 2% had gang affiliations.
Private prison companies like CoreCivic are reporting massive revenue increases through contracts with DHS.
The company is seeing nearly a quarter of billion dollars in revenue from four sites alone.
