WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Maxwell Frost, Ranking Member of Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, wrote to the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General demanding answers after whistleblowers shared with Oversight Democrats information on the Trump Administration’s dangerous conditions and lawless practices at ICE holding facilities in Florida. The reports include overflowing restrooms, air vents with visible black mold, and detainees forced to sleep on the concrete floor or in chains.
“Whistleblowers have shared explosive new information with Oversight Democrats about the horrific conditions inside ICE facilities in Florida. The Trump Administration is trying to cover up these disgusting and unsafe conditions and escape accountability, while countless lives are put in danger. ICE must immediately put an end to this inhumane treatment and give us answers on this horrific situation,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
“Whistleblower reports detailing inhumane and illegal detention conditions at multiple ICE holding facilities are appalling. These horrors – and the fact that the Trump administration is trying to cover up these abuses – must be fully investigated. These facilities must also be shut down and the individuals responsible need to be held accountable. Immigrants in ICE custody must be treated humanely and given proper medical care,” said Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson.
"Trump’s immigration detention system is as cruel as it is unnecessary, and this administration's deliberate efforts to hide the conditions inside ICE facilities in Miramar and Orlando, Florida are abhorrent. This new whistleblower report reinforces what has long been documented about immigration detention facilities—a system being used to punish people rather than uphold basic human dignity and justice. Alongside my colleagues on the Oversight Committee, I’m demanding accountability and an end to these horrific abuses that are putting lives in danger,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost.
Images of Miramar Holding Facility provided by the whistleblower can be accessed here.
In the letters to Mr. David J. Venturella, the Acting Director of ICE, and Joseph V. Cuffari, the Inspector General of DHS, the Members wrote, “We have received confidential whistleblower disclosures about the Trump Administration’s dangerous and lawless practices and conditions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facilities in Miramar and Orlando, Florida.Acting in clear defiance of court orders and ICE’s own internal policies, the Trump Administration has created crises at these facilities where brutal conditions put staff, detainees, and the public at imminent risk of serious harm or death. Whistleblowers warn that, among other abuses, ICE is detaining people—including men, women, families, and elderly people with chronic medical conditions—for days to weeks in abusive and life-threatening conditions, including overcrowded cells, prolonged shackling, inadequate access to medical care and hygiene, insufficient food, and limited to no legal access. ICE is simultaneously attempting to cover up these horrific practices.”
In July 2026, Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal demanded answers from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) regarding the vetting and training of ICE officers in the wake of the killing of Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on July 13, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine.
In May, Ranking Member Garcia held an immigration round table in Orlando, and visited an Orlando ICE facility with Congressman Maxwell Frost.
In February 2026, Ranking Member Garcia released a report highlighting Oversight Democrats’ key findings regarding the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both victims were killed while bearing witness to the abuses and injustices on their neighbors by the Trump Administration’s aggressive, violent, and unlawful immigration enforcement tactics.
In December 2025, Ranking Member Garcia and Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal launched a series of bicameral hearings to expose and investigate abuses, excessive force, and constitutional violations by federal immigration enforcement agents.
In November 2025, Ranking Member Garcia led Oversight Democrats in launching a public Immigration Enforcement Dashboard to track and document incidents of abuse and potential misconduct by DHS immigration enforcement agents across the country.
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